Infinite Galaxy
by unity9
Summary: After surviving everything Columbia could throw at Booker DeWitt, he wakes up only to find the Lutece twins are now offering him another assignment. With nothing to lose, he agrees to the terms, but this time the assignment requires Booker to travel 270 years into the future to a place called Eden Prime.
1. Chapter 1

**Infinite Galaxy**

_**A/N:** Hello everyone. I just got the idea a while ago after I finished up playing Bioshock: Infinite and this was the idea that came to mind. I just want to know how far I can take it, but to my fans of my other story **The Matrix Effect** don't worry I haven't forgotten about it. I just want to see where I can take this story so enjoy and let me know what you think._

_If there is grammar errors, I apologize.  
_

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"Booker, are you sure this is what you want?" Elizabeth stopped Booker from entering the lighthouse and lightly brushed his hand.

Booker DeWitt replied with a sense of determination as he was about to enter through the wooden door. "I have to. It's the only way to undo what I've done to you."

He pushed the door open and he is once again by the baptismal spot by the river and the same preacher standing before him with his head bowed and his hands clasped in prayer. Then the preacher lifted his head and raised his right hand. "Booker DeWitt, are you ready to be born again?"

Booker turned and faced Elizabeth. "What is this? Why are we back here?"

Elizabeth approached him and explained. "This isn't the same place, Booker."

"Of course it is. I remember, wait." Booker looked at Elizabeth and sensed that something was not right. Something was different about her. Then another Elizabeth showed up. Then another. Each was wearing a different outfit similar from when he first met her to what she was wearing now. "You're not… you're not… who are you?"

More and more Elizabeths showed up and spoke in turn.

"You chose to walk away."

"But in other oceans, you didn't"

"You took the baptism."

"And you were born again as a different man."

Then it dawned to Booker. He said to himself. "Comstock."

"It all has to end."

"To have never started."

"Not just in this world."

"But in all of ours."

Booker was now looking at possibly a dozen Elizabeth look-alikes. Then he made another realization. "Smother him in the crib."

Then each Elizabeth repeated the word. "Smother. Smother. Smother."

"Before the choice is made."

"Before you are reborn."

During the whole time, the preacher was reciting a phrase from the bible and then he asked Booker. "And what name shall you take my son?"

Then one Elizabeth said it. "He's Zachary Comstock."

Then another Elizabeth said. "He's Booker DeWitt."

Booker's eyes widened and looked directly at the Elizabeth in front of him. "No… I'm both."

The three Elizabeths grabbed him and plunged him beneath the water. Booker struggled for air and he tried to free himself from their grip. The action was futile and his world began to turn black. He felt his last dying breath leave his mouth in the form of an air bubble. Then, he just stopped moving.

* * *

Booker suddenly woke up. His first reaction was to cough and take in deep breaths and gasp for air. His heart was beating in rapid speed as he lifted his head up from the floor, that was when he realized that he was no longer drowning or being held down by the numerous Elizabeths trying to 'baptize' Booker DeWitt from becoming Zachary Comstock.

Now he found himself lying on the floor of his office. He noticed he wasn't feeling hazy and sluggish as he normally felt after downing a bottle of whiskey. He also noticed that he was dry, his clothes weren't damp. _Was it all a dream?_ He thought to himself.

Then he remembered Anna in the next room. "Anna. Anna." Booker stood up and rushed into the next room that belonged to his daughter.

Booker opened the door and to his shock wasn't a bedroom. It was a movie theater house. He stopped and looked around, he wanted to go back but his office wasn't there anymore.

When he turned back around, he saw two very familiar characters standing before him, Robert and Rosalind. The Lutece twins.

"Welcome to the crossing, Mr. DeWitt." Robert said.

"I hope the journey wasn't too unexpected?" Rosalind said.

"You two." Booker's eyes narrowed. He didn't want to deal with these people anymore, but now he had no choice. He wanted answers. "What is all this? How is it that I'm both DeWitt and Comstock? Where's Anna? Where's my daughter?"

As nonchalant as they always were they simply responded to Booker's request. Rosalind spoke first. "If you have a seat, Mr. DeWitt the answers will be explained."

"Perhaps the answers aren't what will be explained, but what will be shown." Robert said.

"Please. Have a seat." Rosalind said. "The show is about to start."

Booker reluctantly complied with their request and took a seat from the empty theatre. The red velvet curtains parted ways to reveal the flat white screen as the projector reel began to roll. Robert walked over to a piano over by the corner near the screen and began playing a few notes from the music sheets. Rosalind stood in the front of the screen and cleared her throat.

The theatre went dark and the projection portrayed the words '_Booker DeWitt or Zachary Comstock. Who is who? The curious notion of parallel realities.'_ Booker shrugged when he saw his own name being projected on the screen.

Rosalind spoke up. "We start with the aftermath of Wounded Knee. We come down by the river where Booker DeWitt is about to receive his baptism. Did he reject the baptism… or did he embrace it?" She paused for a moment and stared at Booker with an inquiring impression. "The answer is 'yes' to both the questions. You see Mr. DeWitt; you became the lush you have to see in the mirror every day ever since you rejected the baptism. However, have you accepted the baptism you would've renounced your name and had taken the name Zachary Comstock."

Robert stopped playing the piano and said. "Dear sister, perhaps we should let the moving picture show explain to Mr. DeWitt."

"As we should." Rosalind raises her right hand and lowers it back down. The lights of the theatre dimmed and the music continued.

Booker watched the screen as the film progressed as the phrase '_Universe A'_ projects on the screen and it shows a baptismal by the river. Booker realized that the man about to be baptized is himself. Then Booker cringed when he saw himself shake his head and pull himself away from the crowd of church-goers.

Then the scene went blank and the words '_Meanwhile on Universe B'_. The same baptism takes place, but this time Booker accepts the baptism. Then the man conducting the baptism began to move his lips. Then the phrase written on the next scene said _"You are now born again my son. Have you chosen a new name for yourself, my son?"_

The next scene was Booker being helped up and looked at all the people around him. He began to move. The next scene said _"Zachery Hale Comstock."_

The next scene said '_The two different, yet same men, progress their lives from that day "down by the river bed". DeWitt continue his path of self-destruction while Comstock follows the path of righteousness.'_ The film shows a side-by-side comparison of the two men as the words '_Universe A'_ and '_Universe B'_ hung above each of their designated slots. The images show Booker DeWitt on the left participating in the breakup of a workers strike with the Pinkerton Detective Agency while Comstock was tilling the land as a farmer. Then Booker was seen drinking shot after shot of whiskey at a local tavern while Zachery Comstock was reading various books on scripture. Finally Booker was watching the horse race while Comstock was making a speech before a large crowd of people.

Booker just lowered his head and clasps his right hand over his eyes. His whole life was being projected on the screen as if he was being judged by a higher power. _Is this my punishment for rejecting the baptism?_ Booker thought to himself. _Is this my judgment before I'm sent to Hell?_

The screen said _'Comstock meets Rosalind Lutece. She offers him a chance of a lifetime, a chance to be the leader of a wonderful city, a city in the sky. However, an heir is needed… an heir to continue the work for __future generations__.' _Booker noticed that last phrase was underlined for some reason. '_Ms. Lutece and her brother Robert show him the wonders of her discovery of __Tears__ and __Quantum Levitation__. However, the Tears left Comstock to age rapidly and to become sterile and he is unable to bear children himself. The Lutece twins found a solution for Comstock's inheritance problems.'_

The Lutece twins activate a tear from the controls of a machine and Comstock nods in approval. The three people walk through the Tear. Booker was gazing intently at the screen, because he knows what is going to happen next. The words on the screen states '_The Lutece twins and Comstock travel to Universe A from Universe B. The Lutece twins offer Booker DeWitt an opportunity for his outrageous gambling debts.'_

Rosalind spoke up and the piano music became more dramatic. _"Bring us the girl, and wipe away the debt."_

Booker knew what the next scene was going to be. It was him giving up his infant daughter just so he wouldn't be in debt to loan sharks and cut-throat bookies. His memories recalled trying to get his daughter back from a younger looking Comstock and the twins. Then he remembered the infant girl losing her finger when the Tear closed and now he remembers when she tried to cover up the missing finger with a thimble. She lost her finger when she was sold to the Luteces and made the connection when he realized that Elizabeth was his daughter Anna.

Booker no longer wanted to see any more of the film. He quickly rises from his seat and screams. "Stop it! Stop it, now! I know what's going to happen next and I get it now! You don't have to show me my mistakes! Especially after giving up my daughter, Anna so she could be renamed Elizabeth Comstock and used for a megalomaniac's plan for the future! Only to find out that same megalomaniac happens to be me if I had chosen to get baptized!"

Booker takes a deep breath and continue to speak, but in a calmer tone. "I know what I have done, but I am not proud of it. I rejected the baptism originally only to realize that if I were to forget the crimes I have committed, the faces of those slaughtered Sioux back at Wounded Knee would fade away and nobody would've remembered them."

As the lights came back on, Booker slumped back down on his seat. Robert and Rosalind approached the beleaguered old soldier.

"He didn't wait till the show ended." Robert said. "Just as I thought he would."

"I guess you win this round, brother." Rosalind said. "I suppose we should go straight to the point."

"Indeed." Robert said as he points to the double-doors at the end of the aisle. "Mr. DeWitt. In the next room you will see what you will need for your next assignment."

"What?" Booker looked at the eccentric man. "Next assignment? The hell with you two. I did the job, remember? 'Bring us the girl, and wipe away the debt.' Well I brought you the girl, brought down Columbia, brought down Songbird, and stopped New York from being destroyed. I think I'm done here."

"You think you are, but you must consider one fact." Rosalind said. "You are now dead and if you were to return to where we found you, you will not have existed."

"You would just be a ghost, a figment of someone's imagination." Robert explained.

"Just like us." Rosalind said.

Booker was now fuming. "Where's Anna?"

"Oh, I'm afraid she has already gone on ahead without you." Rosalind said.

"Yes, after she fulfilled your wishes to 'smother Comstock in his crib' she moved on to another place she felt she needed to be." Robert said.

"Where?" Booker demanded.

"The question isn't just where, but when." Rosalind said. "Hence the next assignment… if you choose to accept."

Booker didn't move, but he asked. "When? What are you talking about?"

"The future of course, but how far is what you should ask?" Robert said.

"He's willing to go, but we should prepare him." Rosalind said. "Come along, Mr. DeWitt. We have work to do."

The twins moved towards the double doors, but Booker was a little hesitant to follow. Rosalind opened the right side of the door while her brother opened the left. Booker froze for a moment when he gazed inside and he could see a strange chair. It reminded him of the same red chair he sat on when he first arrived on the lighthouse the Luteces dropped him off at. Then he remembered the chair strapping him down only to be rocketed off to the floating city of Columbia.

"Not this shit again." Booker said.

"We assure you Mr. DeWitt it's not going to be a similar experience as before." Rosalind said.

"You are just going to be introduced to the wonderful universe of knowledge." Robert said.

"Your mind cannot grasp the concept of the science to where you will be going." Rosalind said.

"Technically sister he cannot grasp the concept of scientific knowledge of his own time." Robert said while looking at Rosalind.

"If you want to call me an idiot, tell it to me to my face." Booker tone was festering of anger. "I might have not been the best student in my schooldays, but don't you two think I want to hear your condescending remarks as if I'm not in the room with you. Now tell me what the hell you are about to do with me if you two expect me to sit on this chair."

The twins were quiet at first as they stare at one-another for a moment. Then they look at Booker.

Rosalind was the first to speak. "Very well, Mr. DeWitt. As you see, by eliminating yourself from the equation Comstock wasn't able to run Columbia."

"Therefore Columbia will never become what it is or will become." Robert said. "The knowledge that made Columbia what it is, is now forever lost."

"Or is it?" Rosalind said.

"What are you talking about?" Booker asked sternly.

"The knowledge of the vigors." Rosalind said.

"It can be quite useful for your next assignment." Robert said. "But you need the knowledge if you want the next assignment to be successful. Come and sit."

Booker shakes his head and reluctantly sat down and his hands and feet were clamped down, just like before when he took the flight up to Columbia. Robert pulls down a lever and a spherical metal object comes down from the ceiling. When the sphere stops just above Booker's head, Rosalind pulls out a leather helmet with wires coming out padding. She connects the wires to the sphere and places the helmet over his head. Then she pulls out what looked like goggles. She straps the goggles around his head and connects wires coming out of the goggles into the leather helmet.

"Now Mr. DeWitt." Rosalind activates a few switches. "Relax your mind."

"The images you are about to see will bombard you with knowledge." Robert explained. "A lifetime of knowledge all granted to you in the time it takes for a rooster to crow."

"You will feel a slight pinch in your mind, but that will subside." Rosalind said.

"Are you ready, Mr. DeWitt?" Robert said.

"Ready as I'm ever going to be." Booker mumbled to himself. "I could really use a drink right now."

The twins activated the mechanism and Booker felt a jolt of pain coursing through his skull. As soon as the device was activated, it was over. Booker just felt tired and used up after an evening of heavy drinking. "Forget the drink. It feels like the day after all that drinking."

"I see you're still functioning." Rosalind pulls out a piece of paper and a charcoal pencil. She hands over the items to Booker. "Now let's see what you have learned."

Booker takes the pencil and as if he was under some form of possession, he scribbles down numbers, letters, and he drew in a few lines. When he finished, he looked at what he had written. He didn't know what it was at first, but then he realized that he just wrote down the formula for "Devil's Kiss? This is the formula, but how?" Booker asked himself.

"We simply instilled the knowledge vicariously through your subconscious brain." Robert said.

"You will need to know it for where you will be going." Rosalind said as she activated another series of controls. "Next, lessons in history… future history."

"This will be a longer session than the last." Robert said as he pulled what looked like a mouth piece, the kind of mouth piece that would only be found in mental asylums when the electroshock therapy was administered. "You will need to bite down on this, unless you would want to grind your teeth to dust."

Before Booker could protest, Robert placed the foam piece inside his mouth. Then Rosalind activated the device again. Now Booker was being bombarded by images of things that are to come, from the end of 1912 to the end of the 20th Century and then he will see the events that go beyond.

After five agonizing minutes strapped onto the red chair, Booker's heart rate was speeding out of control. He was short of breath and his mind felt like someone was beating it with a sledge hammer.

Booker spat out the mouth piece and yelled. "What the hell was that all about?!"

"Let's ask a question." Rosalind asked her brother.

"Something simple. Something close to home for him." Robert agreed. "Tell us what happened on the date of December the 7th of the year 1941?"

Before Booker could shout out more obscenities at the twins, he impulsively spoke. "The Imperial Japanese Navy launched its aircraft fleet towards the territory of Hawaii. The mission was to destroy the U.S. Navy's Pacific fleet. This attack eventually pushed the United States to fight against the Empire of Japan and later on to fight Germany which was eventually called the Second World War…" Booker trailed off as he couldn't believe he knew all that information and tried to find out where and how he learned such information.

"It worked." Rosalind said.

"Now the final installation." Robert picks up the mouth piece "Personal history."

"Yes." Rosalind said as she takes the leather helmet off along with the goggles. "You will still be you, but in a different era. This will tell you everything you are." Rosalind inserts a small skinny ring on Booker's wedding finger.

"And now the journey begins." Robert said.

Booker was not looking forward to what was going to happen next, because it's usually bad. Then it happened. The floor around the chair opened up and glass panels arisen from the floor, then he was encased inside the panels. When the panels locked into place following the hiss of compressed air, he was engulfed inside a blue light as Robert activates another switch and Rosalind watches as she places a set of goggles over her eyes.

Before he can scream in pain, Booker can feel himself being disintegrated into nothingness and his whole world turning black. That was when he woke up.

* * *

When he jerked away from where he was lying, he opened his eyes and looked around his surroundings. He was inside a small room; the room reminded him of being inside a train compartment. The only difference was that the material wasn't made of wood; it was made of sterilized metal. He could feel the floor vibrate and he knew that he was being taken somewhere. Then the words _starship_ flashed across his mind.

Booker looked back down where he was lying down and realized that it was some type of container in the color of white. It was padded on the inside and there was cold mist emitting from inside the container.

Then an electronic voice emitting from the side of the container spoke. "_Are you finished with the sleeper pod, Mr. DeWitt?_"

Then Booker didn't know what to say exactly when the object said his name. Then he nervously said. "Yes."

This thing calling itself a _sleeper pod_ then closed up its door and automatically slid underneath a hidden compartment. Then a padded bench popped up where the sleeper pod once stood.

He still didn't know where he was, but he was suddenly being rushed with a flood of memories. Then he felt the trickle of blood coming down his nose as his vision was turning blurry. It was just then he possessed new memories that tagged on to the old ones.

Booker looked down and realized that his apparel was radically different. He was no longer wearing his blue vest, his red ascot, his blue pants, and his boots.

"I need a mirror." Booker said out loud and just then a light shined in front of him and projected his mirror image. He realized that by simply asking for the item, the item presented itself. "Uh, thank you." He said to whatever answered his request.

Booker looked at himself into the strange mirror and examined his clothes. He was wearing a black long sleeve shirt and pants to match. The material didn't feel like cotton or wool, the material he was accustomed to wearing all the time. Then he looked at his face and noticed his hair wasn't wavy like he remembered, instead it was cut short on the sides and it was slightly longer on the top like his haircut was cut with precise pair of cutters. The words _buzz cut_ came to mind as he felt his scalp.

Then he looked at his arms and instinctively lifted his left arm. With a little shock, his left arm lit up with an orange transparent glow. Then the words _Omni-tool_ came to him in his mind. He knows what it is for some reason and he suddenly knows what to do.

Booker activates a program and as if by instinct, he requests his personal history. He found what he was looking for and the file states:

_NAME: DeWitt, Booker B._

_DATE & PLACE OF BIRTH: April 19, 2144/New York, NY, UNAS, Earth_

_PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Species: __Human__ Gender: __Male__ Race: __Caucasian__ Height: __6'1__ Hair Color: __Brown__ Eye Color: __Green_

_DATE OF ENLISTMENT: April 19, 2162. Joined the Alliance Military on his 18__th__ birthday. He said he joined when his girlfriend got pregnant and needed the supportable income. _

_DATE OF DISCHARGE: April, 19, 2183. Will be granted the retirement pension after full discharge._

_OCCUPATION: Soldier. Currently serving in the Human Systems Alliance. Current rank is Gunnery Chief._

_FAMILY: Wife: DeWitt, Fiona (deceased). Daughter: DeWitt, Anna (missing). Colony planet where Fiona and Anna were staying was raided by pirates while Booker DeWitt was on deployment._

Booker studied the file intently and realized that so much was the same from his old life from the late 19th century. It was remarkably similar in ways he didn't want to know. Losing his wife, losing his daughter, and now he was about to retire. Then he remembered to check up for the year, he immediately looked up the date and he also checked on his current status. The date was _July 6, 2182_. Before he could find out where this starship was taking him, there was a knock on the metal door.

When Booker answered the door, a woman was standing at the threshold. Booker realized that the woman was a _Negro_, but Rosalind Lutece's voice told him. 'That isn't the appropriate term anymore, Mr. DeWitt. Try to refrain from such comments.'

Booker shrugged off the voice in his head and asked the woman. "Yes, ma'am? Can I help you?"

The woman said. "Yes, Mr. DeWitt. I just wanted to tell you that we'll be landing shortly. Your gear is being prepared as we speak. Just like you requested."

Booker didn't know what to say but just told her. "Thank you, um by the way miss. I have to ask, are you treated well? I mean do you…"

The woman smiled. "If you are offering me a job, it's alright. I mean I like the pay they give me and I get to travel. Sure it has its ups and downs, but what job doesn't. It is what you are offering, right?"

Booker didn't want to answer right away, but he remembered the mistreatment of the blacks and Irish back on Columbia. Then he just simply replied. "Never mind. Thank you, ma'am."

"You're welcome." The girl said.

* * *

The ship landed smoothly and everyone exited the ship accordingly. Booker waited patiently when someone told him that all of his worldly possessions were being offloaded. He waited by the platform and got a full view of this place… this world… this planet that wasn't Earth. The sky was blue and the hills were green just like on Earth, but the trees and the landscape was radically different from what he was used to, but despite the difference he was not accustomed to large fields of grass and plants since he spent a nice chunk of his time in New York City.

Booker was still trying to grasp where he is and now the time period. While he's still trying to figure out what is going on and why the Lutece twins would send him here, someone calls to him while boxes of his belongings were being offloaded on a cart without wheels. The cart was hovering, but it was nothing new to him since he has already become accustomed to the strange sights of the floating city of Columbia.

Booker didn't respond at first to the person calling his name, but the voice grew louder. It was a feminine voice from behind. "Booker DeWitt? Gunnery Chief DeWitt?"

Booker turned around and noticed a woman with olive colored skin, black hair rolled up into a bun, soft brown eyes, and she was wearing white and pink armor casing covering her body.

Booker replied. "Yes, that's me. Can I help you?"

The woman approached and gave him a crisp salute. "Gunnery Chief DeWitt, I'm Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams. Welcome to Eden Prime."


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N:**__ I do not own Mass Effect or any of the Bioshock games. I own nothing._

_I also want to let you know that I really appreciate the support I have been getting so far. I'm enjoying the reviews and I hope to not disappoint you in the future, but I will do my best. This chapter is shorter than I expected it to be but I hope to add more in the future. _

**Infinite Galaxy**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Booker DeWitt was standing right in front of this woman calling herself Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams. Booker realized that times have changed since he served in the 7th Calvary back in his own time. The idea of a woman serving in the armed forces would have been a ridiculous idea, but that was when he was a sixteen year old kid joining the U.S. Army. When he served, his beliefs that women not being able to serve shattered when he would hear stories from the older soldiers who served in the Civil War about enlisted men who had their wives pose as men just so they can join along with them into battle.

Then he recalled Columbia, seeing the police and military forces consisting of both men and women trying to kill him. Then he remembered the Vox Populi and much of their forces were made up of women also trying to kill him. He knows for a fact that women are capable of exploiting large amounts of damage as much as their male counterparts could ever do.

Now that he's looking at this woman standing before him, still holding a salute. It only shows that times have changed and women are serving alongside with men out on the battlefield. Booker kindly returns the salute. "Thank you Chief. What can I do for you?"

"I'm assigned to take you to your new home." Williams said. "I understand that you are granted a military house right outside the base."

"Oh, yes I just remembered." Booker didn't recall procreating a home, but he played along. "I don't know where exactly it is, but I was hoping you would know since you know more about this place than I do."

Williams replied. "That's why I'm here Chief. I'll take you to my skycar."

"Skycar?" Booker paused for a minute, but now recalled what one is. "Oh, yes. You have one."

Williams looked at Booker oddly at first, but corrected him. "Actually the skycar belongs to our unit, the 212." She pointed to an oddly shaped contraption.

Booker's mind recalled what this contraption was and he realized that this thing was called _a skycar_. He looked closely at the machine and realized that he won't have enough room for all his things.

Before he could tell his fellow Gunnery Chief of the lack of room, he was approached by a dockworker. "Mr. DeWitt. We have all your things loaded on the transport." The dockworker pulled out a tablet with orange bio-luminescent writing on the surface. Booker suddenly knew this as a _data pad_. The dock worker continued. "Is this the address, sir?"

"Uh, I'm not one hundred percent sure." Booker confessed.

Then Williams glances at the data pad. She nods and said to the dockworker. "Yes, that's where we are going."

"Alright, then." The dockworker turns around and said. "We're okay to go, Powell."

Booker noticed this Powell character was sitting on a crate and nodding to his co-worker. Booker might be new to this timeline and this world, but he knows shady people. He could spot these men out a mile away and Powell fits the profile of the type of dockworker that would make a few items disappear from the shipping manifest and sell it on the side. He remembers spotting these guys out when he worked for the Pinkertons back when he was given random assignments to guard the piers in Brooklyn.

Williams calls for Booker's attention. "Chief DeWitt? Are you ready?"

Booker shakes his head and follows Williams into the skycar. He takes his seat on the passenger side and said to her. "Sorry. I was distracted. I don't think I could trust that guy. He looks like the kind of guy who would steal from his mother's corpse."

Williams silently agrees while the car hovered away from the star port. "Things have a tendency to disappear around here, but you don't have to worry about your personal belongings."

"Thanks for the confidence boost." Booker said.

Booker didn't let on to Williams, but he was secretly shivering to the idea that he was actually flying. He knew about flying, because back in his day people were flying but only to those who had the money. He also heard about the Wright Brothers flying their motorized glider back in 1903, but the flying then was nothing like the flying he was experiencing. Not to mention the bad experience that he had when he was strapped to a chair and had been rocketed into Columbia.

"I have a confession to make, Chief." Williams said.

"Booker." Booker said. "Call me Booker. We're not on duty; at least I'm not on duty yet."

"Okay, call me Ash." Williams said.

"Alright, Ash." Booker smiled.

Williams continued. "Anyway, I have a confession to make. When I found out you were coming to Eden Prime and joining Unit 212, I was the first to volunteer to pick you up from the star port."

"Really, why were you so anxious to pick me up?" Booker asked.

"Really? You have to ask?" Williams shakes her head and smiles. "You're a living legend. You're the hero of Torfan."

Suddenly that triggered another memory surge. Booker could see the words _The Battle of Wounded Knee_ spread across his mind and the words _Wounded Knee_ being replaced only to become _The Battle of Torfan. _Then the image of one of his commanders changed when the image of Major Slate turned into another leader bearing the same rank. Then Booker recognized the darken skin man as a biotic named Major Kyle. Then he was bombarded by an image of Sioux Indian warriors. They were each wearing war paint on their faces, a head dress over their heads, and armed with Winchester rifles and bow & arrows. Then the images of Sioux warriors turned into ghastly looking creatures with leathery tan skin and four blackened eyes. Their weapons also turned into something he had never seen before. Then he recognized these creatures as _batarians._

Booker felt a slight headache and he thought to himself. _They called me 'The White Injun' after the Battle of Wounded Knee. They called me 'The False Shepherd' when I arrived to Columbia. They called me 'Martyr of the Revolution' after I supposedly died fighting for the Vox Populi. Now here I'm someone else, but 'hero' is not what I am._

Williams asked Booker a question. "Booker, are you alright?"

"I slaughtered so much that day." Booker said. "I annihilated so many… batarian slavers, but at the price of so many of our own troops. I'm not the hero you think I am, Ash. I am not proud of what I have done. I was given a name and that name fits me well. I'll always be known as… _The Butcher of Torfan._"

"I'm sorry to bring that up, Booker." Williams was quick to apologize. "I mean Chief…"

"Don't worry about it." Booker shrugged off the realization. "Just let me know when we get to my place."

The drive for the next few minutes was quiet and it was slightly awkward for both Booker and Ashley. However, the stillness stopped when they arrived at Booker's designated house.

Ash said to Booker. "Here you go, Chief. This is your place."

After Ashley landed the skycar in front of the property, Booker stepped out of the skycar and got a glance of his 'house'. It was white in color, box shaped, and stretched out.

He looked at his place and said. "Nice. It looks plain, but nice."

"These are one of the nicer ones we normally issue to officers or enlisted personnel who have family." Ashley told Booker. "Are you married, Chief?"

Booker turned his head and plainly state to Ashley. "I was. She died."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Ashley said immediately hoping not to cause more discomfort to the man.

Booker sighed. "It's alright. It was a long time ago." So Booker changed the subject. "So where's your place?"

"I stay in the barracks on the base." Ashley said.

"Wait, you're also a Gunnery Chief." Booker looked at Ashley. "Why aren't you staying in a place like this?"

Ashley takes a deep breath. "Well, like I said. These homes are usually reserved for officers, personnel with family, and/or both. They're giving you this house because of your celebrity status. My status with the Alliance isn't as impressive as yours."

"Did you do something wrong in the past, Ash?" Booker looked at Ashley with a hint of concern.

"No, but it's a long story." Now it was Ashley's turn to sigh. "Something all my commanding officers eventually find out."

"Find out about what?" Booker asked but Ashley shakes her head. "I'm sorry, Ash. I guess we both have a past we're not particularly proud of."

"Let me get to know you a little better and I'll tell you why." She smiled and after she finished her sentence, the transport from the star port arrived. She looks up and said to Booker. "Ah, they're here. Here's my contact information. You will start Monday and I'll take you on the base. I'll show you around since I am tagged to be your sponsor."

"Thanks, Ash." Booker said and extended his right hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine." Ashley said and noticed the mark on his right hand. She was tempted to ask what it was, but decided not to risk another awkward moment.

Booker knew she saw something on his hand, but said nothing. He raised his hand up and noticed the words AD was still etched on the skin. _I hope this doesn't mean False Shepherd in this time and place._ He thought to himself.

Booker had the crates brought inside and the movers left after all of his possessions were now inside his strange looking house. He did a little bit of exploring from room to room and each room was a curious notion. There was a data pad left behind, he examined it and it was a welcome letter from the base commanding officer named Commander Harlow Johnson. Booker didn't bother to read it; he was more interested in what this house came with. It came with furniture, vid screen, refrigerator, washer and dryer, three bedrooms, one bathroom, and one dining room.

There was another note attached at the end of the description. When Booker read the contents, it seemed more personalized.

_Gunnery Chief DeWitt,_

_Welcome to the 212. I am pleased to have you here and I am even more pleased to grant you one of our best houses to finish up the duration of your time and service to the Human Systems Alliance. Again it is an honor to have you with us, Chief._

_Very Respectfully,_

_Commander Harlow Johnson_

_Commanding Officer of Unit 212_

Booker places the data pad back on the coffee table and begins to unpack, but that will have to wait because he had been just been visited by two uninvited guests. The Lutece Twins.

"What the, hell!" Booker jumped back. "What are you two doing here? But why do I ask, it's a silly question."

The twins still wore their early 20th-century garments; consisting of a brown overcoat, brown tie, and the pants that designated the gender as Robert is wearing his slacks as Rosalind is wearing her skirt.

"Just checking up on how things are going for you Mr. DeWitt." Robert said.

"It would be rude just to leave you someplace and not check up on your condition." Rosalind said. "So how are you enjoying the 22nd century so far?"

Booker just remains silent. His only answer was. "I still want know what you did to Anna or Elizabeth for that matter."

"Patience, Mr. DeWitt." Rosalind said. "All will be revealed."

"We can assure you she is in a safe place." Robert said.

Rosalind glanced at the clothing Booker was wearing. "I must say, I do like the look."

"Perhaps we should change to acclimatize to this time and era?" Robert replied to his sister.

"Indeed." Rosalind said.

The twins emitted a bright light which surrounded their bodies. It was so bright Booker immediately shut his eyes. When he sensed the light went away and his sight returned from the temporary blindness, the twins were now wearing similar style of clothing Booker was wearing.

Both the twins were wearing a green and white outfit which matched identically to each other. Their shoulders and arms were white while the color green draped down to their shoes. Even their hair was different. Robert's hair was shorter around the sides and Rosalind's Gibson style hair had been pulled back and braided into a bun in the back of her head.

"I do say this is a more comfortable form of attire." Rosalind said as she examined her new set of clothing.

"True, but it loses its sense of majesty when one walks into a room." Robert replied.

"Look." Booker asked sternly and he approached the twins little closer. "What am I doing here? This is not my time and age, but if you two are involved it must mean you need me to do something. What is it?"

"That would spoil the surprise if we tell him everything… or anything at all." Rosalind said.

"We could tell him at least one thing." Robert said.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Rosalind asked pulling something out of her pocket. Robert nods and she looks at Booker.

Rosalind tosses the object at Booker and Robert produces a silver tray out of nowhere.

"Heads." Robert said.

"Or, tails." Rosalind finished the sentence.

"Not this shit again." Booker griped his you noticed the coin is the same silver coin from Columbia.

"Heads."

"Or, tails."

"Fine." Booker places the coin over his thumb. "This time I think tails."

The coin is tossed in the air and lands on the tray just like back at the carnival.

"What you know. Heads." Robert said.

"Oh, drat." Rosalind replied. "You win, we tell him one thing."

"Well, if you must know this colony will soon be the site of a very nasty battle." Robert said.

"It will not happen for quite some time, but it would be wise for you to prepare." Rosalind said.

"Prepare, how?" Booker asked while crossing his arms.

"The vigors would be a good start." Robert said.

"I would start with Possession." Rosalind said.

"You see the barbarians coming to ransack this colony like the Huns sacking Rome are not your typical soldiers." Robert explained.

"These invaders will be a race of mechanical people called the geth." Rosalind said. "And they will be led by a rather roguish type of alien called a turian."

"Well, when and where will this happen and who is this alien." Booker asked.

"That's enough information, but why should you worry about when?" Robert told Booker. "The only difference between the past and present…" Then he looks at Rosalind.

"Is schematics." Rosalind finished looking at Robert.

"What?" Booker was becoming annoyed again. "Didn't you say that at the graveyard?"

"Lives. Lived. Will live." Robert just replied.

"Dies. Died. Will die." Rosalind added.

"If we could perceive time as it truly was…" Robert stated.

"What reason would men of your stature be willing to get out of bed?" Rosalind said looking back at Booker.

"To become something more than you allow yourself to be." Robert was now looking at Booker.

The twins emitted another light and when Booker opened his eyes, they were gone. Booker looked around and groused about the inconvenient times these two show up. When he looked inside one of the bedrooms, he found twelve containers and a table in the center of the room holding a lab set.

He looked around to see who or what left this behind, but all he could find was a data pad. He lifted it up and it simply said:

_Mr. DeWitt,_

_Be sure to make haste on those vigors. We gave you the knowledge to make it, remember? So don't waste such talents._

_R & R Lutece_

_P.S. We think you might like the newest feature on your Omni-tool._

Booker placed the data pad back down and activated his Omni-tool. The words _New AMP acquired_ flashed. He activated the new feature and his Omni-tool immediately transformed itself.

It was a transparent glowing mechanism which was very familiar to him. It looked just like the skyhook from when he 'borrowed' it from that cop in Columbia right after the raffle incident. Then an electronic voice spoke, it was speaking like one of those mechanical vendors. _Introducing the one-of-a-kind, Omni-Hook_. Booker couldn't help but smile.

* * *

Ashley Williams arrived at the base; she had no troubles entering the almost empty facility, because it was the weekend and the only people there were people chosen to be on watch duty. Ashley parked the 212's skycar back by the base parking lot and entered the main quarterdeck where Private Nirali Bhatia was sitting behind a desk filling out some reports.

"Chief Williams." Nirali said. "How was the pick-up?"

"Fine, however I think I might have asked a couple of questions I shouldn't have asked." Ashley confessed while signing the skycar back in the data log. "But fine, nevertheless."

"What was he like?" Nirali asked like a teenage girl asking for the details on a date. "I mean I can't wait to meet the man who took out those batarians four years ago."

The Chief just smiled and didn't really say anything at first. Then she rolled her eyes to the back of her head and tried to recap the situation. "Well, I must confess. I was a bit awestruck at first when I first met him. So like the responsible Chief I am I saluted him."

Nirali giggled. "Saluted? You didn't get on your hands and knees only to say you worship the ground he walks on?"

"Bhatia?" Ashley laughed. "You're the worst, I swear."

"Well, it's no secret that you've been dying to meet DeWitt since we found out he was coming to the 212." Nirali confessed.

"True, it's not every day we get a celebrity out here on Eden Prime." Ashley said. "Funny though, he comes across as someone who practically hates his status. He also comes across as someone with a troubled past. You know, it was strange that I also noticed a mark on his right hand. The mark was two letters. AD. What is that supposed to mean?"

"AD?" Nirali asked. "Doesn't it mean something in Christianity or how we measure years?"

"I think it's Latin for 'anno domini'." Ashley said. "A term one could say when stating the phrase 'in the year of the lord' when you talk about the current year. But that term A.D. stopped when we decided to use B.C.E. You know, 'Before the Common Era?'"

Nirali shakes her head. "Maybe. So what else can you tell me about DeWitt?"

Ashley gave it some thought, but she answered truthfully. "Promise this doesn't leave the room?"

"Of course." Nirali said while she smiled.

"The images on the news feeds don't do him justice." Ashley smiled. "He's much more attractive in person."


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N:**__ I do not own Mass Effect or any of the Bioshock games. I own nothing._

_Sorry for the delay, but this chapter was a lot harder to write than I thought. Anyway I want to show my appreciation for all the people who favored and followed my first two chapters. Thank you all._

_**JaredDrake :**__ False Shepard. Heh. Considering who the hero of Mass Effect is... fits. Especially if Shepard is the Hero of Elysium. Also. It's strange how being the Butcher of Torfan fits Booker so well. Keep it up!_

_**Me: **__I would like to let you know you just gave me some writing material for future chapters. Thank you kind sir._

_**Dracomancer1:**__ Another really great chapter. You might want to tighten your laces a bit on using past and present tense. Also, you had Booker being just a tad bit too adaptive to his surroundings. I know he's been on this big journey through time and space, but there are limits. Anyway, keep going strong!_

_**Me:**__ True, but don't forget the first chapter where the Lutece twins put him through that machine which installed the memories and knowledge he will need to live in the ME universe. However, I hope this next chapter ties up the loose shoe laces._

_Thank you **BSDude**. I had phallic instead of Pyrrhic. I had auto correct on. Thanks again. _

* * *

**Infinite Galaxy**

**Chapter 3**

Booker spent the rest of that Saturday evening catching up on current events. Each time he glanced a date in time, his mind would start racing and quickly recall the events in history. He looked up the major events in human history after 1912. He started with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand which began the First World War, and then his mind recalls important events during the war. Trench warfare, the battle of Ypres, western front, eastern front, the introduction of tanks, and what called to his attention was the Russian Empire collapsing into civil war and the Czar being killed to install a system called Communism. That part he found interesting, because when he learned about the formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics it immediately reminded him about the Vox Populi uprising on Columbia. _If the Vox had successfully overthrown Columbia, would they have aided this Soviet Union five years later?_ Booker thought to himself.

Then he glanced at the Second World War, and he immediately recalled the events that started the war to its end. Words like the Treaty of Versailles, Weimar Republic, Militarism in Japan, Mussolini, the Great Depression, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Nazis, invasion of Poland, battle of Dunkirk, France's surrender, the Blitz, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, battle of Moscow, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Pacific Campaign, Stalingrad, Kursk, storming the beaches of Normandy, Market Garden, battle of the Bulge, the fall of Berlin, and the image finally finished with the Atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Booker takes a deep breath and pinched the brow of his head. His head hurts, but it wasn't as intense when he was undergoing the mind scrambling methods unleashed by the Lutece twins. That is where it hits him.

"Those twins." Booker said to himself. "I forgot what they did to me with that god damn machine of theirs. Now I can't look at a date or moment in time without knowing what happened." Then he takes a deep breath. "But I guess that's how I know what a data pad, an Omni-tool, a starship, and a skycar are without sounding like someone living underneath a rock."

After a brief moment of ranting to himself, Booker takes a deep breath and continues to read. He spent the rest of his weekend reading the events: the Cold War, the Moon Landing, turmoil in South America & Africa, the Vietnam War, and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Then he followed on to the 21st Century with the colonization of Mars and the moon. The merging of the United States, Canada, and Mexico to form the United North American States. The terrorist destruction of the Statue of Liberty. The assassination of the presidents of both the People's Federation of China and the UNAS. The discovery of the Prothean relics on Mars. The discovery of the Mass Relays. Humanity's first encounter with an alien race called the turians which led to the First Contact War. Then humanity was introduced to a large intergalactic government called The Citadel Council. Then he was introduced to the list of alien races that inhabited this Citadel.

Booker looked and studied the list of these aliens. The only thing he had to say about them is. "Strange. H.G. Wells couldn't have dreamt it better."

Booker put away his Omni-tool and took a break from his historical research. He sat down on his couch, takes a deep breath, and tries to relax for a moment, but he couldn't stop thinking of all that is happening around him. Then he recalled that time back when he found the voxophone after walking through the tear Elizabeth opened back in the police lockup. He remembered the voxophone made by him, hearing his own voice but not recall making the recording. After that recollection he activated his Omni-tool again, browsed for a few minutes, and then he found his personal recordings. He activated his earliest recordings and found **April 19, 2162**.

Booker pressed play and heard a voice. His voice from a recording of when he was younger.

"_Well today's the day. I got all the things signed and now I'm going to boot camp. They're sending me to basic training first and then I'll be going to Macapá, Brazil for my advanced training. I'll be gone for a few months before seeing Fiona again. I have been thinking about joining the military for a while, but with Fiona now two weeks pregnant with my child I need some serious income coming my way. No way to support a kid with my last dead end job and the military was willing to support its members who had kids… at least that's what the recruiter told me. Whether he was lying or not, I want this job and the kid coming along was just an excuse to push me into this."_

"_Ah, Fiona. We were together since we were fourteen and this will be the first time we will be separated. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, so what I've been told. She was upset that I was leaving, but she was more than happy that she was having my child. Funny though, we were always careful about accidental pregnancies. All she could say was 'I guess life finds a way.'"_

Then Booker spent browsing through the logs to find anything worth of interest. Then he found **January 5, 2163**.

"_I manage to get time off from my advance training session and not a day too soon. Fiona went into labor and she gave birth to a baby girl. Thank God she went into labor as planned and inside a hospital too, because Fiona had to give birth through C-section since she didn't have proper child bearing hips. The doctors said that Fiona would've died if she went into labor two or three hundred years ago. The wonders of modern medicine."_

"_Anyway, my baby was born. She's beautiful. We named her Anna Moleva DeWitt. It was then it finally dawned to me, I was a father. I have a family of my own. It was the happiest day of my life. It was strange though, she was born with her right pinkie finger missing. The doctors were baffled, but despite the missing appendage she was healthy."_

"_Oh, yeah I forgot to mention. After Fiona was recuperating from the labor pains, I decided to ask her the big question. I asked for her hand in marriage. She said yes."_

Booker found pictures posted of baby Anna and his soon-to-be wife Fiona. He couldn't help but smile and examined the pictures a little closer. It was pictures of him and Fiona getting married at the base chapel in Macapá. He looked so young in those pictures and he wore his Alliance dress blues while Fiona wore a traditional white wedding dress. Even Anna was dressed up in a toddler's bridesmaids dress and smiled for many camera shots. They were accompanied by other soldiers present at the ceremony and all participated in the wedding. Suddenly Booker had a slight memory rush when he saw those other soldiers and remembered who they were. Most of them died in combat or left the Alliance.

Booker found another entry. This one was listed as **November 7, 2168**_._

"_We've been stationed on the Arcturus Station for two years now. So far it's been great. Anna has been doing extremely well in school and they're saying she should be in the Gifted Program. I know she didn't get that talent from me so she must've got it from Fiona. However, she has been showing signs of strange behavior and it has caught the attention of the entire station. Is it possible she's a biotic, like all those children I keep hearing about back on Earth? Well, Fiona said she had been contacted by someone who said they're from the Conatix Corporation and they said they want to take a look at Anna in a couple days."_

**November 9, 2168**

"_These men showed up and examined Anna with a series of tests. They said she was gifted and she had abilities. She showed more promise than most other children older than her, but after the testing was over she ran over to me and she said she was scared. She told me that she didn't trust these men and they want to take her away. Like any decent father would, I listened to her. I'm going to do a little research on these two men promising her a future through the Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training facility on the Gagarin Station. I'll talk to my Captain about looking into these men."_

**November 12, 2168**

"_My Captain, whose name I will withhold for protection purposes, told me these men were forming a brain camp where they were going to treat children as weapons using biotics and they hire turian mercenaries to teach the students. There was no way in hell I'm letting those monsters raise my daughter in those conditions. And I thought that was the worst part of the news. My Captain did a little more digging and he found out they were middle-men for a shady organization."_

"_That evening me, my Captain, and few other fellow Marines cornered these men and 'questioned' them. They fell apart real quick and confessed they were hired by some shadow organization to bring Anna to them instead of the BAaT facility. It was some organization called Cerberus. They even told us this was not the first time this organization took someone's child vicariously through other people as they confessed through a story that they heard. It was about some doctor who found an infant girl who possessed biotic abilities and faked her death to her mother only to be taken in by this Cerberus organization. This doctor was paid well. These sons of bitches were going to take my daughter away from us for a price. We're holding these men right now so they could be taken back to Earth."_

**November 13, 2168**

"_Yesterday we put those two men in a holding cell and I went home to keep a close eye on Anna. Today I came back to check on those men only to find them dead. The coroner examined the bodies and they discovered that they had been administered some type of poison that activates at a certain time. It was most likely that the men didn't know they were infected and it was intended to kill them after their mission to take Anna was complete. I guess this was Cerberus's way of covering their tracks if they were followed. Dead men tell no tales."_

**November 15, 2168**

"_After the incident, I needed protection for my family. My Captain arranged me to get transferred to a colony on Zigma 4. It had a base and was capable of defending its inhabitants. Fiona and Anna will be safer there, even when I'm deployed. The school rating by the base was excellent and Fiona managed to find a job working as a civilian contractor so naturally we took the post."_

Booker nodded in approval and continued through the long list of journal entries. It was nothing impressive, just talking about living on Zigma 4. That was until he came across the date **May 30, 2171**.

"_I just got the news a week ago. Zigma 4 was attacked by batarian slavers. They attempted to raid Zigma 4 with an entire fleet of pirates, but they were cut down before they could take anyone. Unfortunately I found out the fleet was just a distraction. A shuttle touched down and an eight year old girl was taken."_

Booker could hear his own voice pausing for a moment and he could've sworn the man on the voice was fighting the urge to cry. Then the voice continued on.

"_Fiona was killed. The bastards killed her. They said she was shot trying to protect Anna. The batarian bastards killed my wife and took my daughter. I… I…"_

There was no more to the recording. Booker's heart sunk, because he understood the loss and he knew what this younger alternate version of him was going through.

Then the next entry was **August 10, 2176**.

"_I haven't put in a journal entry lately. Okay… five years was the last time I put in an entry. Not since after I lost my wife and daughter. Why do I make the entry now? Two reasons."_

"_One: I stayed in the Alliance. Despite the temptation to resign and attempt to find Anna, I choose to stay. Now I'm glad I stayed, because the batarians have been making raids along the borders of the Terminus Systems for centuries and the Citadel couldn't pin the attacks on the Batarian Hegemony. Now that the new kids on the block known as humans have entered the galactic scene, the batarian slavers thought we would be easy pickings. They have been raiding human settlements for years, but they were bound to screw up somewhere. That place was a colony called Elysium. Some young and upcoming officer named Shepard helped repel the attack and now we got that evidence we need. We found evidence that the Hegemony sponsored the raids and we just declared war on the Hegemony."_

"_Two: I just volunteered to join the raiding parties. I figured that if I can get close enough to these pirates and slavers, I can get some information before Alliance Intel could. I was told that I can get my information from the Shadow Broker, but I rather exact my revenge first for what they did to Fiona and Anna."_

**April 28, 2178**

"_The airless moon of Torfan is where they are orchestrating all their raids. If any information about all the people they have taken, it will be here. I've been waiting for this for seven years. Anna, daddy's coming!"_

**May 1, 2178**

"_The pirates are dug in deep. We got to make the push, but this push is going to get many of us killed and many of these pirates are willing to kill or be killed. My CO Major Kyle is in a rut. Our unit was given the task to lead the raid, but the defenses were strong. He was willing to pass on the mission to another unit, but if he did that I won't know what happened to Anna. I told him that I'll lead the charge and he gave it to me. I can understand why he doesn't want to do this, because this invasion has the potential to be a horrible defeat or a Pyrrhic victory. I don't want to do it, but I have to. For Anna's sake."_

**May 12, 2178**

"_We took the base and most of the pirates are dead, however I lost so many of our own troops. I was so blinded for justice, for Fiona. For Anna. But I lost myself trying to avenge them. People are going home in a coffin, because I wanted to avenge two people very dear to me. I lost it. I was in what the krogans called a bloodrage and what the ancient Spartans called blood drunk. When the dust settled, all the pirates were either dead or crippled."_

**May 15, 2178**

"_I found the shipping manifest and the files that were involved with the attack on Zigma 4. It wasn't a raid to capture slaves. It was a suicide mission to capture one little girl. Some company contacted these pirates via through connections on the Omega Space Station. They were offering a huge bounty for Anna DeWitt. It didn't say who did it, but I know who it was. Cerberus."_

"_When they found the shuttle carrying Anna, the bodies of the batarian crew was found floating in space, the ship stripped of useful parts, and Anna was gone. She's still out there. She's still out there, somewhere in the galaxy."_

**July 20, 2178**

"_The brass wanted to give me a medal. The Star of Terra to be exact. I couldn't accept it, because of all that's happened. I ask to resign my position, but they didn't want me to. They wanted me to be another Alliance poster boy just like Shepard, but I want none of that. It's bad enough that I'm constantly being hounded by the press and fans alike. There were people calling me a hero but they were also calling me a 'butcher'. That was the name the batarians were calling me and some members of the high command was starting to call me that."_

"_They weren't going to let me go anytime soon, so I settled for a compromise since my retirement is fast approaching I got them to give me the full retirement package. The kind they give to Admirals. Also my remaining service to the Alliance will be posts on back water agro-colonies. It will be more time for me to go back to school and acquire a degree in Criminal Justice and get myself a Private Investigators license. When I get out of the Alliance, I'll use my private investigation status as a way to look for Anna out in the Terminus System. "_

Booker stopped the recordings and said to himself. "I guess that's why I'm here on Eden Prime." He shut off his Omni-tool, because he didn't want to listen anymore and went straight to bed.

* * *

The next day, Booker felt particularly brave and explored his surroundings. He was looking at the clock and it said _10:34 AM Earth Standard Time_. He thought about getting a taxi and checking out the local city called Constant to get some breakfast and do some shopping. That's what he needed because there was no food in his house and he remembered what the Lutece twins told him about getting started on those vigors.

When Booker typed up directions to the nearest store, he was given directions to the local commissary on the base. He didn't have to go far and got everything he needed. When he got back to his house he immediately got started with the vigors. He brought the bag of items he purchased at the store and recalled the formula that was installed in his brain. He used the ingredients from the purchased items and used the lab kit to convert the items into vigor.

The process was much simpler than he thought it was going to be and the final stages of processing the mix into vigor required the final stage which is distillery. Making vigor was almost like brewing alcohol. Now that he thought about it, he realized that the extra distillery could be used to make beer. This gave him an idea.

Several hours later, he had finished making Possession, Devil's Kiss, and Bucking Bronco. As a bonus, he brewed some lager and some ale. Now all he had to do is wait for the fermenting to finish which could range from two to five months.

After his project was over, it was getting pretty late in the afternoon and Booker wanted to find a new activity. Naturally he felt himself falling back into old habits, despite his conscious telling him to start cleaning up his life. Instead he ignored the voice in his head and checked out the nearest watering hole.

Booker did a little searching and he found a local bar located just right outside the base. The place was called _Paradise Lost_. The bar looked as if it was built by the same metal alloy everything seems to be made of.

He walked in and noticed this bar seemed very clean, especially compared to what bars were like back in his day. The spacious room smelled clean, the walls were smooth and decorated with alcoholic advertisements, and it was littered with vid-screens showing what looked like a variety of sports on each channel. Booker walked up to the bar and patiently waited for someone to serve him his drinks. A minute went by and a man came out of a storage closet carrying a crate of liquor bottles.

When the bartender noticed Booker, he dropped what he was doing and asked. "How's it going sir?" Booker detected a hint of Irish in the man's accent. "I'm Damien. What can I get for you?"

"Oh, what kind of whiskey do you have?" Booker asked.

Damien pointed to the variety of whiskeys on the shelf, but Booker didn't feel that adventurous yet.

"I'll take the cheap stuff for right now." Booker said.

"On the rocks or straight up?" Damien asked.

Booker gives it a quick thought and requested. "On the rocks."

Damien fixes him the drink and Booker takes a sip. It was rather smooth going down his throat, although it's not what he was used to. He built up a tolerance to rotgut whiskey. The drinks he remembered during his time out on the frontier were much more dangerous to drink.

Booker would hear stories men getting poisoned by the _trade_ whiskey, by the bartenders who used basic ingredients to pass off as whiskey. One example is half a barrel of water, one pound of burnt sugar, one ounce of sulfuric acid, one plug of tobacco, and finish it off with raw alcohol. The vilest rotgut whiskey he ever had was _firewater_. It was brewed for bartering with the Indians. The recipe required one barrel of Missouri water, two gallons of raw alcohol, and two ounces of strychnine.

Then you slap a label on the bottle and you instantly have whiskey. Often those brands would be named Joy Juice, Taos Lightning, Widow Maker, Panther Piss, Brigham Young, Diddle Liquor, Coffin Varnish, Skull Bender, and so on and so on.

Booker quietly sat down on a barstool and sipped his drink. He looks at the vid screens and studied which sport is which. While looking at his new surroundings, someone approached him and greeted him.

"How's it going, Chief?" A soft feminine voice said which caused him to quickly turn around.

It was Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams. She was wearing civilian issued clothing and not the armor she was wearing yesterday. Her brown and silky hair was draped down; it wasn't in a bun like it was yesterday. Her clothing hugged every curvature of her body and she was wearing makeup which brought out her soft brown eyes and cheeks.

Booker caught himself taking a nice long look at his fellow Gunnery Chief. He quickly asserts the situation and quickly greeted her. "Chief Williams. What brings you here?"

Ashley smiled. "It's okay; we're not on duty yet. But I'm glad you found where us Marines like to unwind. Saves me the trouble of introducing this place to you."

"Well, I found it just fine Ash." Booker smiled and takes another sip of his whiskey. "So what brings you here, if I may ask again?"

"Oh, well I like to come in here Sunday evenings and catch the recap on the sports events like everyone else." Ashley's answer seemed thinly veiled. "That, plus a few extra drinks tend to help me cope with the anticipation of dealing with my superiors all week."

Booker took a glance at Ashley and he asked. "Yeah, you mentioned that before. When I asked you about your past, you were a bit shy to answer." When Booker finished, Ashley sunk her head low. "Ash, we all have a past. If you have a past with the Alliance, I won't judge."

Ashley looked at Booker and crossed her arms. "It depends. Buy a girl a drink and I might tell you."

Booker nods and asked her to take a seat next to his. After she takes a seat, he calls for Damien's attention. "Get the lady whatever she wants, I'm buying."

Damien smiled. "Sure thing. The same thing, Ash?"

"Of course." Ashley said while Damien pulled out a small glass and filled it with the same whiskey Booker was drinking.

Three drinks later, Booker felt a little brave to ask Ashley. "So, what is it that makes the Alliance not trust you?"

Ashley takes a deep breath. "I guess you earned an explanation." She told him while taking a quick look around to make sure nobody is listening. "Do you remember the First Contact War?"

Suddenly Booker's mind rushed with another implanted memory installed by the Lutece's machine. He knew the full details of the turian attack on Shanxi, because he suddenly remember himself as a young kid watching the news along with a small crowd of strangers when humanity made first contact with an alien species. "Yeah, I do." Booker plainly states.

"Well, then you probably know of the man in charge of the Alliance Garrison on Shanxi." Ashley began to confess, but then Booker stopped her.

"Wait a minute. Are you sure you want to tell me this?" Booker said. "Aren't you afraid I'll pass judgment on you?"

"I feel like I can trust you with anything right now, if that's what you mean." Ashley said. "Besides, everyone finds out eventually and this way I get it out of the way quickly. Anyway, the man in charge was General Williams. I'm his granddaughter."

"Okay, I see." Booker wasn't seeing the problem at first, but then he made the connection. "Wait a minute. Are you saying the Alliance's problem with you is the simple fact that you are related to him?"

Ashley lowers her head, but her tone begins to boil with anger. "My grandfather was blacklisted and so were all members of his family."

Booker was silent for a minute. He downs the rest of his whiskey and visually signals the bartender for another one. When the glass was filled up again, he quickly finishes the drink after it is set on the counter. "It's not right."

Ashley didn't say anything. She just looked blankly at the wall of liquor in front of her.

The Booker said again. "It's not right. Hundreds… two hundred years of military service and political bullshit is still the same."

Ashley was confused to why he would say two hundred years. "Excuse me?"

Booker caught himself saying that and he quickly alleviated the situation. "I mean it seems like times haven't changed. When someone is dealing with war and battle, the politics that come with it never changes. From what I understood your grandfather held out as long as he could, against a military force that was ten times beyond his own if I may add." Ashley suddenly perked up a bit. "So humanity was breaking a law the aliens made, a law we didn't know about. Then the turians send their soldiers to subdue a planet that was a human colony. They bombed and killed civilians in the name of enforcing the Treaty of Farixen, which killing and bombing civilian targets is a gross violation of that same treaty which they damn well knew about." Ashley beamed up again as Booker continued. "It sounds to me that the turian military was using dirty pool tactics to get your grandfather to surrender. If he hadn't surrender, Shanxi would've been labeled something similar to another slaughter… like"

Ashley instantly spoke up. "Like Wounded Knee?"

Booker was glad that he wasn't drinking at that moment, because if he were he would've spit out the drink. "Excuse me?"

"Wounded Knee." Ashley said. "I read this old book a few years back. It was called _Bury my heart at Wounded Knee_. It was about the old United States Army's 7th Cavalry thinking that the Sioux was on a war path when they mistake the Ghost Dance as a type of war dance. If I remember correctly, about a hundred and fifty Sioux were killed at an encampment where the cavalry tried to intervene."

Booker didn't move. He just froze for a moment and awkwardly nods. He knew the story all too well, but he wasn't going to tell Ashley that. He just said. "Yeah. Thank God Shanxi didn't become another Wounded Knee… thank God for your grandfather."

"You know what. I'm so relieved." Ashley said. "I rarely tell this story to other people, but when I do I'm usually seen differently or treated like a second-class citizen. My father was treated worse. He kept getting passed up for promotion after promotion. They wouldn't let him rise above Serviceman Third Class."

"It's wrong." Booker said. "It was wrong how they treated your grandfather. It's wrong how they treated your father. It's wrong how they treat you."

"You know, Booker." Ashley smiled. "I'm going to like having you here on this colony." Booker and Ashley sat there and continued talking for the rest of the evening.

* * *

_**A/N:** Well I finally got it done. By the way, the name __Anna Moleva was the name of the cosplay player that modeled as Elizabeth for the Bioshock: Infinite game. Just thought you should know. _


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N:**__ I do not own Mass Effect or any of the Bioshock games. I own nothing._

* * *

**Infinite Galaxy**

**Chapter 4**

Booker woke up in his bed early in the morning, but his head was throbbing from the night before. Although he enjoyed having those drinks with Ashley, he didn't like having to deal with the aftermath of pounding back what must've been a dozen whiskeys. The irony was that he didn't feel the pain of the hangovers like he used to. Maybe he was too enthusiastic about starting the new day.

The time on his Omni-tool said it was 5:30 AM so he quickly entered the bathroom. It was funny to Booker, because he instinctively knew the first thing to do was to take a shower. _A shower? Wait? I know what to do._ Then he turned the knobs on the wall and a stream of water came out of a nozzle on the upper portion of the wall. He spent at least fifteen minutes washing up and the next thing he did was walk over to the cabinet. He took a shaving kit out and pulled out a strange cylindrical shaped device. The device said _Norelco Omni-Razor._ He pressed the 'on' button and the device vibrated. Then a thinly veiled orange light rose up from the slot. He placed the tip of the light along his face and he can feel the device rubbing against the surface of the skin pulling the hair off of his cheeks. It was a soft and gentle as he glided the device where the hair on his face would be.

When the shaving process was over, he ran his hand across his face and said to himself. "Smooth as a baby's bottom." Then he looked at the razor and nodded for its approval.

He found his uniform; a blue pair of pants, blue shirt, and a blouse. Then he found a hat and placed it over his head. When he examined himself in the mirror, there was a knock on his door.

He answered it and found Ashley behind the door waiting for him, she was also wearing a similar uniform. "Great. You're ready."

"Yeah, looking forward to it." Booker replied.

"Here, I got you something." Ashley said while handing him a white tablet wrapped in plastic.

"What is it?" Booker asked while he removed the plastic contents.

"It's multi-purpose tablet. It's supposed to replenish your loss of electrolytes, calm your stomach, and pain reliever." Then Ashley smirked. "It's an anti-hangover tablet."

Booker immediately places the tablet in his mouth and swallows it. He instantaneously felt the effects dissolve while going down his throat. "Oh wow. That hit the spot. Thanks Ash."

"No problem." Ashley said as they both walk towards the base.

Booker entered the base where Unit 212 and another Unit called the 232. As Ashley and himself or walking down the corridor towards the Commanding Officer's office, Booker noticed that the other Marines were pausing and staring at him. Everyone is literally coming out of their offices and dropping what they are doing just to get a glance at the man who is known as The Butcher of Torfan.

Booker didn't like the attention he was receiving, he was just happy that they weren't coming to kill him just like back on Columbia. He breathed a sigh of relief when they found the office. Ashley was the first to enter the office and introduced Booker to Lieutenant Johnson. He was dark skinned, had a pencil thin mustache above his lip and he looked around the neighborhood of his mid-thirties. The Lieutenant nods, asked Ashley to close the door, and wait outside.

"Gunnery Chief Booker DeWitt?" Johnson asked while extending his right hand for a handshake. "Lieutenant Harlow Johnson, welcome to the 212. I must say it's an honor to have you attached to our unit."

Booker returned the handshake and sat down on one of the chairs in front of Johnson's desk. "It's a pleasure to be here. Wait a minute, I thought the letter I got Saturday said you were a Commander?"

Johnson shrugged a little. "Let's just say that's an old saved data font I use on a regular basis and I need to update my rank."

Booker knew this man was demoted from Commander to Lieutenant. He was quick to change the subject. "Well, so far people seem to be pretty hospitable."

"As they should be, you're a war hero. An icon." Johnson said. "They see you standing on a pedestal along with Commander John Shepard."

That left a bad taste in Booker's mouth when he heard that. "All due respect, sir. I'm not the hero. From what I understand Shepard's actions on Elysium actually saved lives and my actions cost lives. He's the real hero compared to me." Booker's modesty was noted by Johnson.

"Regardless how you think of your own actions, you are who you are and this is probably the biggest thing to happen to this unit ever since its formation when this colony was founded." Johnson said. "Anyway, you will be in charge of training our troops and the 232's troops, you know… to keep their skills sharp and I know they look forward to learning from you."

"Thank you, sir." Booker said. "Will I be working with Chief Williams?"

"Oh yeah, our 'other' celebrity soldier." Johnson said cynically using quotemarks.

"Is there a problem with her?" Booker knew what Johnson was talking about, because Ashley confessed to being the granddaughter of a disgraced general.

"You know about her name right?" Johnson asked. "The Williams name?"

"Honestly, it hadn't occurred to me." Booker lied but kept a cool poker face. "I mean the name Williams is a pretty common name."

"She's the granddaughter of the first officer to surrender to an alien species." Johnson said. "She's tainted. I'm wouldn't be surprised if she made it to Gunnery Chief through special favors, but the high command will never let her have one of those positions of high responsibility. That's why she's here on Eden Prime, and frankly I personally don't want her here. She brings along what is called the Williams's curse."

Booker didn't respond to Johnson's remark at first. Instead he just takes a deep breath and spoke. "Lieutenant. I understand you have nothing but contempt for General Williams, but I see two things wrong with what you just said. One, you see General Williams as a coward for not fighting to the bitter end. However, if the turians were targeting just our soldiers and not putting civilians in harm's way the outcome would've been much much different."

Booker takes another deep breath. "The other thing is, why the family is being punished for the decisions made by a man that had nothing to do with anything other than lineage. From what I understand, his son was passed up for promotion over and over again. That man was officer material but he was forced to be trapped as an enlisted man for the duration of his career. Now they are doing the same thing to General's granddaughter." Booker then recalled a bit of conversation Ashley told him last night at the bar. "It takes a certain kind of thickhead attitude and stubborn behavior to enter a career where your family is already being punished for simply being born. That speaks volumes to Chief Williams and her dedication to the Alliance."

Johnson was not pleased with that reply; instead he just stood up and takes a deep breath of his own. "Is that how you feel about Williams? Now you made my decision where to put you much easier. Send Williams in here."

Booker obeyed the orders and brought Ashley back inside the office.

Like any dedicated soldier, she stood at attention before the Lieutenant. "Williams, I want to congratulate you. Chief DeWitt is now your newest member of Dog Squad." Johnson looked at both Chiefs and told them. "You are both dismissed… and DeWitt? I'll keep my eye on you."

After they exit the office, Ashley asked Booker. "What happened in there? How did you get our squad, not that I'm complaining?"

Booker stopped Ashley and looked at her. "Well, judging by the smell of cheap scotch in his breath and making a horrible attempt to mask it with chewing on a raw onion, he's not pleased with his recent demotion. Besides, he's trying to tell me about your family being cursed and I guess that's punishment for defending you."

"You should've never done that." Ashley was concerned for her fellow Chief.

"I lost the ability to give a shit a long time ago." Booker said. "It happens when you get older."

Ashley couldn't help but smile and tapped him on the shoulder with her open palmed hand. "Then let me introduce you to the rest of Dog Squad."

The two walked down the long corridor and stopped by the door. Ashley asked Booker to wait a minute and she walked inside the room.

Ashley found five other people sitting around the table making small talk and talking about what they had done that weekend. One of the men saw Ashley and addressed her by her rank. "Morning Chief? Did you enjoy giving DeWitt a ride or was it the other way around?" The man snickered as it was obviously meant to be an innuendo.

"You're hilarious, Bates." Ashley said. "But speaking of which, guess who's joining our squad?"

"No way?" Another female with short red hair sitting around the table said. "You mean… he's coming here?"

"He's just right outside the door." Ashley said. "Stand up and the get ready to introduce yourselves."

All five members stood up and waited for Ashley's next move. She went outside and persuaded Booker to come in. Ashley guided Booker over to the eagerly awaiting squad who seem to be anxious to meet their newest member. "Gunnery Chief Booker DeWitt. This is Dog Squad." Then Booker nods.

The first man she introduced was blonde and blue-eyed male. "Chief. I'm Sergeant Donk or Donkey as everyone calls me."

"A pleasure Sergeant Donkey… er, Donk." Booker caught himself and corrected his comment.

"Private Penny. They call me Pennyloafer" A woman with short red hair greeted Booker with a handshake.

"Private Rasputin." A man with brown hair and a short mustache greeted Booker with a handshake.

"Corporal Bates." A dark skinned man was next to greet Booker with a handshake.

"Private Jenner." A man with solid black hair was the last to greet Booker with a final handshake.

"It's nice to meet you all." Booker said to everyone as all eyes were on him. "I should make it no secret, April of next year I will retire from military service and this will be my last position to serve. Despite my limited time, I look forward to serving beside Dog Squad."

"It will be a pleasure, Chief." Jenner said as Booker examined the man.

Booker was examining Jenner's ethnicity and he takes a stab in the dark. "You wouldn't happen to be from South Dakota, would you?"

Jenner looked surprised. "Yes."

Then Booker changed the tone of his voice and spoke another language. "_I take it you are from the plains and you traveled very far to come here._"

Everyone in the room was shocked to hear Booker speaking another language. Jenner was even more surprised. He replied in the same language. "_You speak my language. How do you know it?_"

Ashley was the first to ask. "Okay, what just happened?"

"He's speaking the language of the Sioux." Jenner beamed. "He knows my language, but how? You're not native… are you?"

Booker recalled having this conversation before Wounded Knee, the officers accusing him of having indian ancestry, explaining how he could speak the language so well. This is what made him so valuable as a soldier back in the 7th Calvary, because he could act as a translator. Now he has to explain why he knows an unwritten language.

Booker just plainly states. "I've been around."

Jenner was impressed and told him his full name. "My name is David Jenner, but my tribe name is _Akecheta_."

"Akecheta? That means warrior, right?" Booker asked and Jenner couldn't help but smile as he nods.

"You're full of surprises, Chief." Ashley said.

Pennyloafer said. "Why didn't my translator pick up on the language?"

"It's not really a recorded language." Jenner said. "It's a language that's verbally taught from generation to generation."

Donkey added. "Plus, unwritten human languages are useful to transmit communications in case the enemy happens to be listening to your every word."

It was Jenner turn to add in. "That's why I'm the squad's radioman. It puts us in an advantage since the aliens haven't picked up on our small lesser known languages, especially if the batarians want to try and raid this rock."

Booker smiles and looks around. "Well, just tell me what I have to do and I'll do it."

"Okay, Pennyloafer." Ashley looked at the other woman. "Help the Chief here to requisition some armor and issue him some weapons." Then she looks at Bates. "Bates, see if you can reserve us some time out on the shooting range."

Both Pennyloafer and Bates acknowledge Ashley's orders. Pennyloafer guides Booker out of the room while Bates called the shooting range.

Ashley walks up to her locker and while she places some of her things inside, Donkey approach her. "Aren't we going out of our way to help him."

"What, what do you mean?" Ashley quipped.

"Providing service?" Then he mimics Ashley's orders. "_Help the Chief here to requisition some armor and issue him some weapons. Reserve us some time out on the shooting range._ When I got here, I couldn't get the time of day."

Ashley smiled at the sergeant. "Don't worry, sarge. You'll be important enough someday."

"Oh, for a second I thought our tough-as-nails Gunnery Chief has a little crush on our newest celebrity, hence the red carpet treatment." Donkey said and that got a response from her.

"Oh, sounds to me you're jealous." Ashley smirked. "Can't stand the sight of me being with another man. Don't think I never notice you taking those extra looks at me." Donkey shakes his head and Ashley continued. "Anyway, I had a nice long chat with him last night at the bar. I told him about my family and he was fine with it. Then a few minutes ago he was meeting our Lieutenant. I heard their conversation behind the closed door and he defended me when the LT was telling DeWitt about my family curse."

"Anything else?" Donkey asked.

"Yeah, DeWitt also can play the guitar, he knows poems from the 19th century, he's a stern character, a career military man, and he's not a media whore." Ashley said.

"Doesn't that sound like someone you know?" Donkey asked and Ashley drew a blank face. "He sounds like a younger version of your father. I mean what? Isn't DeWitt thirty-six, thirty-seven years old and how was your father when he passed on if I may ask?"

"He was sixty-five." Ashley said somberly. "Prolonged eezo exposures… wait. I don't want to get into this. Okay, so he reminds me of my father. So what?"

"Maybe we should get to know him." Donkey suggested. "I saw that mark on his right hand. Maybe we can ask what it's about."

"I think we should wait until he's ready to tell us." Ashley said.

"How about tonight." Donkey told her. "Tonight is trivia night at the bar; if we all go down there tonight maybe he'll open up to all of us. How 'bout it?"

Ashley gave it a quick thought and said. "All right, since none of us has duty tonight. I'll pass it on."

* * *

After a full day of getting processed into the 212, Booker got everything he needed. He got a locker, dark grey armor with helmet, an assault rifle called the HMWA, a pistol called Stiletto, and he managed to get a HMWSR sniper rifle as a bonus. He also managed to secure some time on the shooting range; he scored very high with marksmanship.

Booker was fascinated with how these new weapons worked, because they didn't require reloading and only stopped shooting when the weapons were overheating. Then another memory surge entered his mind and told him the weapons are used by Mass Effect technology.

After the workday was over, Booker was ready to leave until he was approached by Bates. He told Booker about trivia night at the same bar he was at last night. Booker decided to give it a try and he felt it was a better way to get to know Dog Squad.

Booker arrived at the appropriate time and there was a larger crowd in the bar that night than it was last night. He looked for anyone from his squad and he found them quickly, they were all wearing their civilian clothing and already having a few drinks. Bates was the first one to spot Booker and waves him over.

Jenner was the first to say. "Hey DeWitt, glad you could make it."

"Well, thanks for inviting me but I don't know how much use I'm going to be." Booker said. "I mean, I wasn't the best student growing up."

"Well find out and maybe later you can tell us a little about yourself." Rasputin said.

"I can't imagine I would be the most interesting man in the world." Booker replied.

"On this world, you are." Donkey said.

"Look, it's starting." Ashley said as two people walked over to a large board which looked like a large data pad.

It had the team names already scribbled in and Booker realized that each team member was a squad from the base. Booker didn't notice the two people coming from behind the bar, because the bar waitress was blocking his view dropping a pitcher of beer on their table.

When Booker poured himself a pint, he looked up and his eyes widened when he saw the two trivia hosts. It was the Lutece twins. They were still wearing their green and white clothing when he last saw them.

Booker tapped on Ashley's shoulder and asked. "Are they the trivia hosts?"

"I guess so, the bartenders usually do it, but I guess they're new tonight." Ashley said.

Booker didn't say anything else; he decided to keep his mouth shut.

"Welcome to trivia night." Robert said to the crowd. "I'm your host this evening, Robert."

"And I'm the co-host Rosalind." The lady replied.

Then some random drunken marine from the audience shouts. "Oh my, god! Twins!"

"Very observant." Robert sarcastically replied to the drunken marine. "That will do you well during the game."

"But please restrain from shouting and use your all-knowing skill on the data pad in front of you." Rosalind said.

"Tonight's trivia topic is the 20th Century." Robert said. "The topic is divided in four subjects."

"Each round covers that subject." Rosalind said. "Round one will be entertainment. Round two will be music. Round three is historical events. Round four will be people of the 20th Century. Let us begin."

Booker couldn't believe the Lutece twins were here and what is strange is that nobody seems to notice except him.

"All right, everyone." Ashley said while shifting their heads together, using her natural leadership to take control of something inconsequential such as a trivia contest. "Entertainment is more of Penny's area of expertise, so Penny this is all you."

"Got it." Was all she said.

"Jenner, you're the music man so music will be your baby." Ashley said.

"Got it." Jenner said.

"The other topics, we're going to have to answer on a wing and a prayer." Ashley said.

"If we win, what do we get?" Booker asked.

"Oh, various prizes like gift certificates and such." Ashley said.

The first round was a series of questions about movies and Booker didn't have the slightest idea what movies was what. To him movies were one of those moving picture shows performed in grandiose theatre houses with the written dialog in-between scenes and they were made by people like D.W. Griffith or what the Lutece twins showed him before coming to this time period. Pennyloafer didn't have trouble with the questions and Booker took a glance at one of the questions._ What was the hit sci-fi movie where a boy found an alien in his backyard? _The question just zoomed over Booker's head realizing that the Lutece twins didn't install the knowledge of cinema in his mind, just historical events. "I guess I need to catch up on what films came out after 1912." Booker said to himself.

The next round of questions was in the form of music. Jenner rubbed his hands in preparation for the questions.

Rosalind looked at the data pad and asked. "Now we will play you a song. You will answer it by the name of the song and who performs it."

"Here is the first song." Robert touched the screen.

The song played and everyone listened to the music closely.

A very familiar tone began echoing across the bar. "_Some folks are born to wave the flag, Ooh, they're red, white and blue. And when the band plays 'Hail to the chief', Ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord, It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no senator's son, son. It ain't me, it ain't me; I ain't no fortunate one, no, Yeah!_"

Booker had a sudden flashback to Columbia. He remembered the encountering the tear with Elizabeth and the music emitting from it was strange and recalled the lyrics back in Finkton. "What is it?"

Jenner moved in closer and showed Booker the answer. It said_ Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival._ "Like it?" Jenner asked.

"I heard it once, but didn't get the name." Booker tried to explain himself. "It was a… strange time for me." Then he thought to himself. _It's a strange time now._

Then the next song was played and this time the song had what was called a_ music video_ attached to it. To Booker it sounded weird, because the song began with a weird pop tune and it showed a colorized moving picture of something that looked familiar to Booker - a housing area of a borough of New York City. Then the next scene was a red headed girl skipping and dancing to the beat. He thought she looked odd wearing a pink dress, silver medallions around her waist, a brown scarf, and a man's hat. She comes home to a woman making something with eggs and the girl starts singing about her life like some type of opera. Then her clothes suddenly change and then she's being scolded by some large ludicrous looking man with long hair and a beard. Booker thought the man looks like one of the thugs that he owed money to back at the horse tracks when he had some gambling debts.

That's when it hit him. He remembered that song. He heard that song when he and Elizabeth were trying to find clues to get into Comstock's house and it led them to the home of Fink's brother, a music industrialist type. Then he remembered another tear which was playing this very song. Then he made the connection of this sound to the song back on Battleship Bay, except it had a more carnival sound and no lyrics.

Jenner wrote something down and Booker took a glance at what he wrote. _Girls just want to have fun by Cyndi Lauper._

Jenner asked. "You heard of this one too?"

Booker answered. "Yeah."

It was Rasputin's turn to ask. "Damn, you've been places haven't ya?"

Booker just lightly laughed and takes his beer. "You wouldn't believe." Then he downs the brew in one gulp.

The list of songs that followed was all songs that Booker heard when he was fighting for his life in Columbia. He was looking at the long list of songs written by Jenner and he read the names. _Everybody wants to rule the world, Tears for Fears. God only knows, The Beach Boys. Shake Sugaree, Elizabeth Cotten. Tainted Love, Ed Cobb & Gloria Jones. Shinny Happy People, R.E.M._

Booker couldn't help but think that the twins were subtlety messing with his already scrambled mind, because he knew this was the songs he stumbled on to and to him these were songs from the future. But in this timeline these songs were archaic and only an expert on music would know about this type of music.

The next two topics were historical events and people of the 20th Century. Ashley pulled everyone together. "All right people, we got to really put our heads together on these next two topics. We got to…"

"I got this, Ash." Booker said confidently as he recalled the Lutece twins painfully burned that knowledge into him.

"Are you sure?" Ashley asked.

"I got it." Booker said as he takes the data pad from Jenner.

To the amazement of the entire squad, Booker answered all the historical questions correctly and he breezed through people of the 20th Century with ease.

Because of Pennyloafer's knowledge of old movies, Jenner's knowledge of music, and Booker's forced knowledge of historical events, the scores were tallied and Dog Squad won the trivia contest.

Despite the playful boos and hisses of the other teams that lost, Dog Squad stood up and gladly accepted the victory. The twins walked over to their table and passed out cards to each member.

"What did we win?" Donkey asked.

"You won gift certificates worth twenty-five credits each." Rosalind said.

"These credit chits are only valid here in the Paradise Lost Pub." Robert said. "We do encourage you all to spend it all at one place."

After Booker took his chit, he waved his hand over to the twins to follow him over to their trivia both. They complied and both stood upright before him.

"What is this about? Is this why I was sent here for?" Booker asked them in a slightly frustrated tone. "Install vast amount of knowledge in my mind and send me into the future, just so I can win some random trivia contest?"

"We can certainly explain what this was all about." Rosalind said.

"Oh, please tell me." Booker said.

"The questions were merely a test of your knowledge." Robert said. "You passed. The chits were simply a reward."

"The free food and drinks was just the superficial prize." Rosalind told Booker and pointed to the table where Ashley and the others were sitting. They were looking at the chits they won and laughing about what drinks they were going to get with their money prizes. "The real prize was creating a bond with your squad. Particularly with Williams."

"What are you talking about?" Booker folded his arms.

"You may see a table full of fellow squad members, I see a performance play." Rosalind said. "Ms. Williams is the supporting actress in a major future role, while the other five players are going to have minor roles to play."

"Williams will be your key to finding Elizabeth, or Anna as you now know the truth." Robert said. "You were brought here to be the wild card. To make a difference to the events that will unfold. Stick with her and your role in this play will continue."

Before Booker can say anything, Ashley voice called. "Hey Booker." He turned to look. "Come over here, we have to ask you something."

"Uh, one second Ash. I have to ask…" Booker turned to face the twins and they were gone. Booker shrugged it off and walked back over to his table. "Never mind. What's going on?"

Bates said. "Oh, we were thinking of pooling in our chits and ordering some food and a liquor bottle from the top shelf. Are you in?"

Booker sighs and nods. "Let's go."

Booker, Ashley, and the rest of Dog Squad sat down and spent the evening eating, drowning shots, and swapping stories. When the group was comfortable enough to ask the question they have wanted to ask, it was Rasputin who asked first.

"So, Booker?" Rasputin rubs his hands together. "We have been curious all day, but I'm pretty sure I'm speaking for the entire group when I ask… and if you don't want to answer. We understand."

"What is it?" Booker looked at Rasputin while everyone is looking at him.

"Why do you have the mark 'AD' on your hand?" Rasputin asked.

_The False Shepherd maybe?_ Booker thought to himself and looked at his right hand. He hesitates for a moment and then he told them. "I was married a while ago. We had a daughter. I was on deployment while they were both staying on the base on Zigma 4, when batarian pirate ships tried to raid the colony. They killed my wife Fiona and they took my young daughter, Anna." Booker was glad he read the journal entries and now he had a script to work with. Then he raised his right hand and showed everyone his scared letters. "I scratched these letters on my skin. As penitence to remind me of the daughter that I lost because I wasn't around to help and because of that she's out there somewhere."

"It's not your fault." Jenner tried to comfort Booker. "It was those damn batarians."

"Do you have any leads?" Bates asked.

Booker looked at Bates. "When we raided the pirate base back on Torfan, I found the ship that took Anna. The ship was dead, the crew spaced, and my daughter was nowhere to be found. My plan is that when my retirement comes around, I'm going to find her."

"How old was she when she was taken from you?" Pennyloafer asked.

"Oh, she was eight when she disappeared." Booker answered. "She would be nineteen today. I got to keep looking and stay hopeful, right?"

Ashley took control of the conversation and told him. "I'm sure she's out there Booker."

"Yeah, she out there." Booker takes his shot glass and raised it up. "To Anna. May she still be out there."

Then everyone raise their glasses and they all say in unison. "To Anna DeWitt." After they touched their glasses together and then they finished the spoils of their victory.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N:**__ Hey everyone, thank you for the support and I'm glad many of you like my story. I have been getting a lot of angry letters from people thinking that I have abandoned __**The Matrix Effect: Lair of the Shadow Broker**__ and I just want to let you know that I haven't abandoned it. I'll start writing another chapter in a day or two so please hold on._

_I have also been getting a lot of people thinking that Elizabeth is going to play the role of Jack. I just want to let you know that I don't plan for anything like that, but I don't want to give away too much of the story. That would be spoilers._

_So without further ado, here's the story. Enjoy. _

* * *

**Infinite Galaxy**

**Chapter 5**

_**Three Months Later**_

Booker returned from work that Friday afternoon and almost immediately as he got home, he looked at his distilling tanks and nods in approval for the work he has done. He fills up one empty bottle with his homemade vigor Possession. He takes his pistol, grabs the bottle of Possession, and leaves his house through the back door. Not before bringing something from work, a LOKI mech which he had slung around his right shoulder.

The mech was rendered obsolete and it was going to be thrown away at the local landfill, however Sergeant Donk managed to rescue the mech and found the right components to get it working again. Booker wanted to borrow it because he knew a mechanical being like this mech would be useful to test his Possession vigor.

Behind his house is a small trail which leads to an empty meadow. A perfect place for various activities such as teenagers doing mischievous things and locals using the area for target practice which Booker intends to do.

After avoiding the local indigenous animal life called _gasbags_ floating around, he arrived in the meadow and rested the mech against a tree. Before he begins his test trial, he felt the need to record his actions and activated his Omni-tool to install his newest journal entry. He types in today's date: _October 11, 2182_.

"Well, it's been a while since I came to Eden Prime and to the far future if I might add. I have to say that this new life I'm living as a Gunnery Chief isn't as bad as I thought. I'm gainfully employed, I have a house, I have friends, heh, I have respect. That's new to me." He takes a moment to process what he said. Then he continues. "It's interesting being here, though. Despite the implanted memories, it still feels like I've been put in someone else's life."

"Since being here I've gotten close to the rest of my squad and they are an interesting bunch. Jenner has been introducing me to music since my departure of 1912, mostly around this genre called Rock n' Roll. We've listened to some of his music and we kind of focused on the late 20th Century music. He can play the guitar like me so he taught me how to play the song _Wish you were here_. Pennyloafer gave me a list of movies to watch, but that's when it hit me. I suggested we hold some gatherings at my house. She suggested that we call it the 20th Century club where we listen to music and watch movies from that era. Why not, it was an excuse to have food and drink at my place. That reminds me, they're coming tonight."

"I guess they all bring out the best in me, because I have found myself drinking a lot less lately except on days I'm with everyone else. Gambling is another story. They don't have horse races on Eden Prime, but I'm learning how to play this card game called Skyllian Five poker. Well enough talking for right now I need to focus. The Possession is ready and I'm to find out whether or not the formula forced in my head will work. What I've done is took this mechanical man called a LOKI mech and I will find out if the vigors from 1912 Columbia could work with 2182 technology. I'm just hoping this stuff won't kill me before I have a chance to try."

Booker stopped the recording and opens the bottle. He looks at the contents inside the bottle and said to himself. "Here goes nothing." He takes a big swig and so far Possession tastes exactly the same as he tried it the first time.

His vision became fuzzy and the familiar image of a green female ghost appeared before him. The ghost looked at Booker and seductively blew him a kiss. Then she runs her fingers across the air making the image of a heart before disappearing.

Booker shakes his head and realized the process worked. He looks at his hands and said. "Still alive. I guess those twins knew what they were doing."

He pulled out his deactivated pistol and placed it in the artificial hands and turned on the mech using his Omni-tool. The mech sprung to life and looked around as if it was confused about surroundings at first. That was until the mech saw Booker and raised the pistol that will not fire. Booker raised his left hand and summoned the banshee from his left palm. The green mist in female form engulfed the mech.

The mech's internal lighting system suddenly turned neon green. This mech was now under Booker's control. Booker smiled and realized that the vigor worked. After gauging the time it took for the Possession to wear off, he immediately turned off the mech, slung the body over his shoulder, and headed back to his house.

* * *

When he got back home, there was a knock at the door. He quickly put his vigor away along with his pistol and mech. He answered the door and smiled to see Rasputin and Bates. They had bags of snacks and cases of beer from the commissary. Booker gladly accepts the gifts and the company, and then they proceed to sit in the living room and talk about the things they're going to do this weekend. Jenner and Donk were the next to show up so for a while it was just the guys.

Thirty minutes later Ashley and Penny came and they too brought food and drinks, but they were followed by another woman. Booker knew this woman from work. Her name was Nirali Bhatia and she brought containers filled with curry and rice she cooked earlier. Everyone knew that she was a cook that specialized in Indian cuisine and married to a man who runs a restaurant back on Earth, everyone loved her cooking and they were all glad she came.

"So what are we watching tonight?" Bates asked.

"I got one." Penny turned on Booker's holo-vid screen and transferred her latest movie selection on the screen. She turned around and presented the movie like she was making a presentation. "It's called, _The Terminator_. It's about a machine from a post-apocalyptic future that travels back in time to kill a woman who is the key to the future of humankind's survival." Everyone applauded to Penny's impromptu speech as she began the movie.

After the movie ends, Nirali's curry was halfway finished and the beer was nearly gone. While everyone was taking in what they just saw, Penny was the first to say. "What did everyone think?"

"Well, I do love twist endings." Rasputin said. "But what I didn't like was that this never happened unless I missed something in history class. I mean there was never a nuclear war and we weren't fighting machines back in 2029."

"You realist, that's the whole idea." Bates added. "This was made in 1984 and people didn't know what the future was going to hold. I like it."

It was Nirali's turn to speak. "Well, I did like the idea that the man sent to protect the future mother of the human resistance turns out to be the father the whole time. I liked it too."

"I loved the action scenes, despite the primitive special effects." Jenner said.

"I have to agree with Jenner and Bates on this one." Donk said. "I like it. What about you Ash?"

Ashley was slow to answer, but her simple response was. "Well, my only complaint was how everyone was shooting their rifles and shotguns from the hip most of the time. That's no way to shoot. Those two detectives should've known better."

"Now who's being a realist?" Rasputin quietly said while he looked at Bates.

"Other than that, I thought it was a great movie." Ashley said and formed a cheesy smile. "Especially the beginning when that muscle bound actor playing the Terminator showed up in his birthday suit." Everyone laughed at Ashley's reply and Penny tosses the couch's pillow at her. Then she looks at Booker. "What did you think, Booker?"

Booker was the quietest one out of the entire group. He was keeping a calm face throughout the whole time, but inside he couldn't believe what he saw. To the rest of the group, these 'vids' were just a glance at vintage cinema, but to him the movies from his time weren't anything like this.

"Booker?" Ashley tried to get his attention.

Booker just turned his head and looked at her while smiling. "I liked it. Really liked it. Is there more?"

"Actually, there is a sequel." Penny said.

Bates spoke up. "Well, I'm up for watching it but we're almost out of beer."

"Who wants to go on a beer run?" Rasputin asked the crowd, but nobody answered.

Then Booker stood up from his seat. "Actually I got some stashed away in the refrigerator and I could get some from the next room."

"Is it your homebrew?" Ashley asked.

"Yeah." Booker went into the kitchen and grabbed three large glass jugs from the refrigerator. He pointed to each one. "That's ale and the two jugs is lager. I'll get more from the other room."

Booker went into the distillery room and took some empty jugs in there with him. When he was filling up the first jug with ale, someone called his name.

"Booker?"

He quickly turned around, spilling some of the ale on the floor. He cursed when he made the mess and stopped the spigot from pouring anymore. When he looked to see who was standing by the doorway, it was Ashley.

"Oh, God. I'm sorry to startle you like that." Ashley quickly apologized.

"It's alright." Booker turned back around and continued to fill the jug.

Ashley noticed what he was doing and then her curiosity led her to look around his distillery room. He noticed the tanks lined up along the wall and various empty glasses stacked in boxes. She noticed that the glasses appear to be used liquor glasses he must've collected over a period of time.

"What's all this?" Ashley looked at the masking tape over the tank written with a black marker. "Devil's Kiss? Shock Jockey? Bucking Bronco? What the… Murder of Crows? What are you making here?"

Booker almost froze when she began asking questions he didn't want to answer. He had to think of something on the fly. "Oh, those… those are little projects I'm working on. I'm taking the local fruits that are native to Eden Prime and seeing what I can make out of it. They're not ready, yet."

"Well. I hope it turns out alright." Ashley looked around and saw a bottle filled with green fluid. "What's this one?"

Booker turned his head to see what she was talking about and saw her holding a bottle of the Possession he had used earlier today. "It's a bad batch. I'm going to throw it out later."

"What's wrong with it?" Ashley took another look at the bottle as if she were tempted to try it.

Booker had to think of a quick lie, because he didn't want her to take a swig of the vigor. He knows she'll develop mysterious unexplained powers that will only force her to ask more questions he doesn't want to answer. "It's sour. If it tastes sour, then it's poisonous."

That grabbed Ashley's attention and she put the bottle back where she found it. Booker was quietly sighing in relief as he finished filling up the jugs and Ashley helped put the two types of beer in the refrigerator. Booker closed the door to his private distillery and walked back into the living room. He took a deep breath as Penny handed Booker a glass of lager.

"Here you go." Penny said as he thanked her. "Are you ready for the next vid?"

"Yeah." Booker said.

"You know, now that I think about it…" Jenner paused for a few seconds. "It's a shame the quarians didn't have a chance to see the first Terminator vid."

"Yeah, wasn't the last Terminator vid made before the geth rebelled against the quarians?" Bates asked.

"No, the geth rebelled against the quarians nearly three hundred years ago." Penny answered. "I think it happened around the 1890's."

Booker's overwhelming sense of calm was disrupted when he heard Penny mention that decade. Booker remembered that as the time he was working for the Pinkertons. Then he remembered the Lutece twins telling him about a mechanical race of people called the geth.

Booker almost nervously asked. "What are you talking about?"

"The geth." Penny began to explain. "You see, remember the scene when Kyle was explaining to Sarah about the machines becoming self-aware in the future? Something similar happened to the quarians when they created the geth. The geth revolted and threw the quarians off of their homeworld and their colonies. As a result, they are forced to wander the galaxy on ships called the Migrant Fleet. The geth haven't been heard from for centuries, they've been just waiting doing God knows what behind the Perseus Veil."

Booker already knows about the Migrant Fleet vicariously through the Lutece's memory machine. However, Booker maintained the charade by asking. "What about the quarians?"

"They lost their status with the Citadel for unleashing A.I. in the galaxy and forced to wonder in their fleet, they're not even allowed to colonize a planet." Nirali said.

"That's terrible." Booker said.

"To think, our government wants to be part of this Citadel government." Ashley scuffed. "If they were willing to betray the quarians, imagine what they will do to us if something happens to humans?"

Booker didn't want to talk more about politics so he diffused the situation. "Pennyloafer? Where did you learn about the quarians?"

Penny takes a deep breath and confesses. "I lived on the Citadel for a year before joining the military. I was going to school and I was dating an asari during that time." That would've given Booker a pause, but he already knew Penny preferred women. He continued to listen to her story. "She was three hundred and fifty years old and her father was a quarian. She was born fifty years before the geth revolt."

"Why did you leave the Citadel?" Booker had to ask.

"Two reasons." Penny sighed. "They raised my tuition and I couldn't afford the classes unless I took out loans. There's no way I wanted to graduate college with a massive debt to my name, so I joined the Alliance to pay for the rest of my schooling… that plus that my girlfriend was in the beginning of her matron stage and she was thinking of kids, kids she wanted to have with me. I wasn't ready for… uh, fatherhood yet." Penny gave a weak laugh.

Now that last comment gave Booker a pause. He learned recently that the asari can choose mates regardless of their species or gender and still produce a child yet still found it strange that a female can father a child when the asari are involved with reproduction. The length of an asari's lifespan is also a bit strange for Booker to comprehend as well.

"Thanks for telling us that." Booker nods. "Hey, I got an idea. How about if we start the vid."

Everyone nodded in agreement and Penny pressed play to the next vid, _Terminator 2._

* * *

_**Five Months Later**_

Booker checked the calendar on his Omni-tool. It said _Monday, March 31, 2183. Nineteen days till retirement and your __birthday._ It must've been the fifth time he's looked at the calendar today. Thinking about what he has done in the past eight months, he has managed to re-create Columbia's vigors. After he finished with Possession, he made Devil's Kiss, Bucking Bronco, Charge, Shock Jockey, Return to Sender, Undertow, and Murder of Crows.

Booker laughed to himself when he recalled testing the Murder of Crows a few times. He remembered the headlines of the Constant Journal reporting about mysterious flocks of blackbirds from Earth attacking farmers and then disappearing. _Thank God those birds only appear for a brief time, because how will one explain how crows showed up on Eden Prime._

After the vigors were made, he had to make the salts that fueled his powers. What he had discovered that the formula for salts is a stronger version of soda, so he had no trouble recreating the formula.

Now he was sitting at the pub drinking his usual rounds of whiskey, enjoying his terminal leave before finally being discharged from the Alliance military. The next two weeks he will have off until his last day and it will be on his last day when he signs his final paperwork.

Before he asked Damien for another drink, he receives a call from Ashley. "Hello?"

"_Booker, I just got some news from the base_." Ashley said.

"What is it?" Booker asked.

"_Well, I can't tell you over the comm lines_." Ashley said. "_I have to tell you in person_."

"Well, I'm at the pub right now. Can you come over here?" Booker said.

"_It's too public_." She said. "_Can we meet at your house?_"

"Sure. When?" His curiosity was escalating.

"_Now if possible_." Ashley said and this made Booker a bit quiet for a several seconds.

"Alright, I'll see you there in fifteen minutes." Booker told her. Ashley didn't bother to reply as she hung up. She was obviously in a hurry. He just paid his tab and left.

When Booker arrived back at his house, Ashley was already waiting for him on his front yard. She didn't wave or said 'hello'. She just anxiously waited for him to open the front door. Right when the door opened, she quickly rushes him inside.

"Ash! Ash!" Booker was getting slightly irritated. "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry, but I just got the news today." Ashley pulled him into the kitchen. "This is big and classified."

"Okay, I can keep a secret." Booker told her.

"They found Prothean relics, here on Eden Prime." Ashley told him.

"Prothean?" Booker eyes widened. "Like the same technology as what they found on Mars?"

"Yeah." Ashley smiled. "The same technology."

"Well this is great, this will add more responsibility and increase your points towards your future evaluation." Booker said.

"Well I don't know about that, but this is big news for the Alliance." Ashley said.

"Come on, is it too much for me to hope for the best for you, Ash." Booker said. "I mean, you've been such a good friend to me for the last eight months and the most dedicated soldier I have ever met. But you still get shit from Johnson and the rest of the Old Guard. It's not fair to you."

Ashley smiled. "That's sweet for you to think of that, but I'm a big girl. I got where I am because I busted my ass off getting it, not special favors like Johnson often like to accuse me of." Ashley pauses for a few seconds to think about what she had just said. "You know when that asshole says things like 'special favors'. I mean did you know he actually thinks I slept my way…"

Booker raised his right hand to stop her at mid-sentence. "Ash, I know you earned what you gained. It's just that someone is going to need a leg up at least once in their life…" Booker drifted off and looked away from Ashley, resting his hands on the dinner table. "And I was thinking of doing this for you. If my status with the Alliance is favorable as you all say it is... I could endorse you."

"Booker, that nice but you don't know what it was like growing up with someone like my father." Ashley said. "He raised me to believe that a Williams always has to push one's self and never take charity." She shifted her hand across Booker's. "It's the burden of living the Williams Curse."

"Ash, your family is not cursed." Booker told her something he remembered telling Elizabeth. "Your family was just dealt a bad hand. But it's how you play the game." Booker turned his head to look at Ashley and for some odd reason he was seeing her with new eyes as he saw the sincerity in hers. He knew he had to say something at that moment. "What was your dad like?"

"Like you in many ways." Then Ashley giggled. "He would've liked you."

"Really?" Booker couldn't help but smile.

"Hell, yeah." It was her reply to his question. "Career military man. Making your own brew. Playing a musical instrument. Oh, you and him would've gotten along great."

"Wish I could've met him." Booker said as he was leaning back on the table while Ashley leaned back in a similar fashion. "You know if you think your family is cursed, is this why you push yourself as often as you do? Do you see yourself breaking the cycle?"

"Heh heh." Ashley shakes her head. "So you're asking me 'will the circle be unbroken?'"

"What?" Booker slightly jumped.

Ashley smiled. "Will the circle be unbroken? It's the name of the song. I didn't expect you to get worked up about it."

Booker smiles but not realizing he was inching his left hand closer with her right hand. "I didn't mean to get worked up. It just reminded me about the song I played with Anna… when she was a child." He shrugged while thinking about where he _really_ played that song.

"Oh, well it was one of my father's favorite songs." Ashley looked down and noticed her hand being held by Booker's. "How fitting, because the album was called _Daddy Sang Bass_."

He lightly laughed, but something hit him in his mind. Especially when Booker looked at Ashley's hand and then he realized he was holding it. He slowly looked up and gazed at her brown eyes. He felt something that he hasn't felt in so long. He takes a chance and quickly places his lips on hers.

After locking lips with Ashley for a few long seconds, he suddenly pulls back. Booker is now gazing at the image of shock on her face when she realized that he kissed her.

Booker's moment of weakness had caught up to him and he realized that he crossed the line with one of his friends. He was numb with shock to feel embarrassed and ashamed for what he did. He tried to speak, but found himself stumbling around with his words. "Oh… my God. Ash. I'm so… so sorry. I just thought…"

Now it was Booker's turn to be taken by surprise. Ashley takes her hands and grabs Booker's face. She presses her lips on his for a long passionate kiss. When she pulled her head back, she asked him while breathing heavily. "You were saying something?"

The two continued to kiss passionately and while in the heat of passion, they found themselves wandering into Booker's bedroom.

* * *

Inside the embassy of the Human System's Alliance on the Citadel; the ambassador Donnel Udina, Admiral Steven Hackett, and Captain David Anderson were sitting around the table looking over a dozen data pads, each containing the files of soldiers; soldiers who are highly decorated and currently serving in the Alliance.

The Council, which is made up of three races that have been governing the galaxy for centuries: The asari, the salarians, and the turians. For so long they have decided the laws, rules, and fate that govern all species within the galactic community. For so long many other species that weren't part of the Council wanted a say in shaping galactic politics, especially the humans despite being new to the galactic community.

That opportunity may come in the form of a new opening the Council offered the Alliance. Humanity was offered a position that meant the power of responsibility and the chance to show how well the new species have come along. The position was to become the Council's right arm to enforce the laws of the galactic community. That position was the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance or Spectre for short. Humanity was given a chance to have one of their own to become the symbol of its presence in the galaxy.

Udina pulled out one of the data pads and asked the two other men sitting next to him. "Well, what about Shepard? He's a spacer. Lived aboard starships most of his life."

Captain Anderson nods. "Military service runs in the family. Both his parents were in the navy."

Admiral Hackett added into the conversation. "He proved himself during the Blitz. Held off enemy forces on the ground until reinforcements arrived."

"He's the only reason Elysium is still standing." Anderson said with a hint of pride in his voice.

"We can't question his courage." Udina took no interest in the Captain's tone or Shepard's military bravado.

"Humanity needs a hero and Shepard's the best we got." Anderson said.

"I'll make the call." When Udina finished his Omni-tool lit up. He received a message and suddenly he smiled widely. Then he takes one of the data pads off the table. "I have another proposal gentleman. I have studied the Citadel laws since I have been appointed as ambassador. I found a nice little loophole during the Spectre selection process."

"Loophole? What are you implying ambassador?" Hackett asked.

"As it turns out, the Council made a loophole hundreds of years ago as a sneaky way to squeeze a few extra Spectres from their own ranks." Udina paused as he takes a sip of coffee from the mug in front of him. Then he continues to explain away. "You see, the three Council races always choose members of their own species. The asari choose Spectres from their commando units. The salarians choose from STG and the turians choose from their various black-ops organizations. The loophole is when they try to recruit from their own militaries, they often try to tag along another member of their own. However, the selection can only be one at a time. But… there is nothing written against recruiting someone who is going to be discharged from that military, especially when tagging along someone who has already been chosen. It was made so that when someone has been selected to be a Spectre, that agent will still have ties with their military while the other selected agent will only have ties to the Council."

Hackett and Anderson glanced at each other for a moment. They both knew this would be a better deal than just recruiting one of their own to be a Spectre when they can recruit another human being to be an honorary agent.

"I can work with that." Anderson said looking at Udina. "Do you have anyone in mind, because my selectees happen to still be active in the Alliance?"

"Actually I do." Udina passes the data pad to Anderson.

Anderson looks at the profile on the data pad and passes it to Hackett. "Are you sure about this?"

"Ambassador? Are you sure you want him?" Hackett asked.

"Yes, I want to recruit Booker DeWitt." Udina said. "Earthborn. The only record of his family is his deceased wife and missing daughter. Other than that, there's no other record of his family."

Anderson stepped in. "He doesn't have one. He was raised on the streets. Learned to look out for himself."

"Not to mention that he got most of his unit killed on Torfan." Hackett said. "He got the job done no matter what, but from what I hear he didn't take it lightly."

"Yes, he was very regretful for what has happened." Anderson said. "Especially when he earned the title as The Butcher of Torfan and therefore rejecting the Star of Terra. Are you sure that's who you want defending the galaxy?"

"Normally I would agree with you, Captain." Udina said. "But the opportunity is too great to pass up. I have done some research on DeWitt. His discharge is coming up in a couple of weeks and he is a licensed private investigator, a profession he planned to use after his discharge. The position of Spectre is perfect for someone like him. Another point is that he is currently stationed on Eden Prime, the same planet where we discovered the Prothean relic. When we pick up the relic to be brought back here to the Citadel to be studied, we can also bring back DeWitt. Two human Spectres for the price of one." Udina was suddenly glowing.

"That is if DeWitt is willing to come along." Anderson said.

"That depends on how persuasive Shepard and whatever Spectre is tagged along to evaluate his performance is." Udina said.

"How did you convince the Council to allow an additional human to become a Spectre?" Hackett asked.

"Well, I discovered the loophole, but it was my two associates that convinced the Council to accept the terms." Udina said as the embassy's door opened. "Ah, here they are."

Udina stood up and walked over to a man and woman. He presented the two people before the two dedicated Alliance officers. "Admiral Hackett. Captain Anderson. I would like to introduce you both to Robert and Rosalind Lutece."

Anderson was the first to stand up and shake their hands. "It's a pleasure to meet you two."

"Indeed." Rosalind said.

"The pleasure is also ours." Robert said.

Hackett followed behind Anderson and then it was his turn to shake their hands. "I should thank you, but like I asked Udina how you were able to convince the Council to add another human Spectre as a candidate."

"Some methods should be kept secret." Rosalind said.

"Indeed." Robert said.


	6. Chapter 6

**Infinite Galaxy**

**Chapter 6**

Booker must've been staring at the ceiling for three hours. He was thinking of all the things that have happened since the Lutece twins sent him to this timeline. He's trying to remember the life he had before coming to the 22nd Century and the life before arriving in Columbia; the memories of him living before 1912 and those memories coinciding with the memories of being Booker DeWitt born in 2144.

Then he felt the body next to his shifting underneath the sheets. He glances down to see Ashley resting her head on his chest and feeling her warm breath against his skin. Booker was reeling in what has happened with Ashley since last night; hearing news about finding alien relics, then the conversation turning friendly, then a kiss becoming hot and heavy, and the evening ends by sleeping together.

The only difference was that Ashley was sleeping soundly while Booker hasn't slept since they finished the lovemaking session from last night. Booker didn't care about losing sleep, but all he cared about right now was the woman lying next to him. All he knew is that this changes everything… or does it. He did remember when he saw the Lutece twins back at the trivia contest telling him that 'Williams will be the key to finding Anna.' Booker thought to himself, _I don't know if this is what the twins meant by staying with Ash, but it's certainly an interesting way to find out._

Then Ashley's head lifted from his chest and she asked. "Booker? Oh, what time is it?"

He looked at the clock on the nightstand. "It's a quarter till six."

"Oh, that's a relief." Ashley nuzzled Booker's chest and she looked up at him, resting her chin on his pectoral muscle. She smiled and he couldn't help but smile back. "Did you even sleep at all?"

Booker answered honestly. "No. I guess my heart was beating a mile a minute, you know? Coming down from the excitement of it all."

Ashley giggled. "What? You act like you haven't had sex before."

That gave Booker a pause, but in a way she was right. He hasn't been with anyone for a long time. "Well, I have to be honest. It has been… a while." Booker was about to trail off. He looked back into his dual memories, both actual and borrowed. Now he's getting the exact estimate of years since he have been with another woman. "I guess it's been… eleven years."

"What?" Ashley's eyes widened. She couldn't believe what he was saying, but curious enough to push on. "I don't believe that. I mean… damn eleven years?"

"Surprised?" Booker couldn't help but smile himself. "Well, the truth is getting laid wasn't a high priority in my life. That and I couldn't even look at another woman ever since Fiona died." He looked at her as she was looking at him intently. "But that was until I met you. When I saw you at that spaceport, there was something about you. I saw it in your eyes. You had obligation. Then last night when I saw your eyes again, I saw passion. I was seeing the real you."

Ashley continued to look at Booker for a few seconds, and then she laughed. "You sound like a trash romance novel." Booker was taken aback from that comment, but she quickly remedied the situation by moving closer to him and rubbed his shoulders. "But I have a confession to make. Do you remember when I first saw you on the spaceport, I was saluting you."

"I remember." Booker said.

Ashley continued. "I saluted and Nirali made fun of me for that, because it was the only thing keeping me from acting like a complete fangirl." Ashley blushed. "I was saluting you, because what I really wanted to do was jump your bones."

Booker lightly laughed. "You know how to make a man blush."

The two smiled and Booker lightly pulled Ashley up towards him. They sensually kissed for a few minutes, until Ashley's Omni-tool chimed. She looked to see who would be calling her, the identifying caller was Donk.

"Shhh" Ashley placed her index finger over her mouth. Then she answered the comm channel and left it on speaker mode. "Chief Williams, here."

"_Chief. I'm calling to find out if you told Chief DeWitt yet_." Donk said.

"Oh, yeah." Ashley suddenly remembered the conversation about the Prothean relics. "Yes I told him last night. He knows."

"_Well, there's more_." Donk said. "_LT is going to hold an assembly on this one so all hands on this. That even includes people on leave right now so if you happen to see Booker, would you kindly pass the message to him?_"

Ashley looked at Booker lying next to her while she smiled. "I'll be sure to pass it along. See you at work today, Donkey."

"_See ya, Chief_." Donk disconnected the line.

"I guess vacation is over." Booker said as he looks at Ashley. "We should get ready."

"Booker, I have to ask." Ashley looked at Booker with concerned eyes. "What does this mean, for us?"

Booker gave it some thought. Then he told her. "I like it. I mean, I like what we have and I want to make it work."

Ashley smiled. "I like it too, the problem is that there's a policy against fraternization."

"We won't tell anyone, not until my last day." Booker said. "I can keep a secret. Can you?"

That gave Ashley a warm smile and Booker drew her in for another kiss. Then she looks at Booker. "Come on, Chief. We have to see what the LT wants from us."

"Yes ma'am." Booker makes a suggestive reply.

* * *

The day has finally come for Booker. It was April 19th his last day serving the Alliance and celebrating his birthday. The celebration was being held at the Paradise Lost and it seems that everyone in the base was at the bar that evening. The only difference is that everyone in the 212 had to be in full armor even on their off duty time, because of the Prothean relic, security was a high priority.

Booker felt odd having to wear his armor while tossing back a few drinks, but he quickly got past it and continued the celebration with Ashley, Bates, Rasputin, Penny, Donk, and Jenner. The bar was crowded with soldiers wearing their armor and tossing back drinks among the sea of mismatched colored armor consisting of black or pink & white. Booker was wearing the same black armor as the men in the group while Ashley and Penny wore pink and white. Damien behind the bar was working fast as he could to keep the drinks flowing along with two other locals who are assisting him and preparing Booker's celebration. They even made an impromptu sign hanging above the bar which reads _happy birthday/retirement Gunnery Chief Booker DeWitt._

Booker was sitting at the table next to the bar with Bates, Rasputin, Penny, and Jenner. Donk and Ashley ordered a bottle of rum. Jenner asked Booker. "So DeWitt? What do you plan to do now that you're going to be officially retired?"

"Well, I'm sticking to the plan of finding my daughter." Booker said. "I was thinking of finding a nice spot here on Eden Prime to open up an office."

Penny was next to ask Booker. "What? You want to stay here? I imagine it will be more lucrative if you moved to someplace like the Citadel."

Rasputin was next. "Or on Omega if you like being on a lawless station and question all the Pirates that might know where your daughter is."

"Well, things have changed and I have a reason to stay here for a while." Booker lifted his glass. "My friends of course."

"Aaawww. That's so sweet." Bates raises his glass and toasts Booker.

Then Booker turns his head and look at Ashley at the bar sitting next to Donk. "And I'm also staying here for something else which I have to announce to you guys in a little bit."

Booker became focused on Ashley, but then he tuned into the conversation she was having with Donk. Now everyone at the table was listening to their conversation. It was a conversation about Donkey having sex with Ashley. Everyone was enjoying the bantering, except Booker. He felt the cringe of jealousy creeping through his veins, but it was the price he and Ashley paid for keeping their relationship a close secret.

"Come on Williams." Donk said. "You know you'd enjoy it."

"Not half as much as you would, Donkey." Ashley Snickered.

"Forget it, Donkey. I already tried." Jenner said with a grin.

"Yeah, Donk." Bates said. "You have a better chance with Penny. Or maybe Penny would have a better chance with Williams."

"I think she'd be all over me, if she rolled that way." Penny said. "But last I checked, she didn't."

Ashley turned her head and gave Penny a wink. "Yeah, but if anybody could change my mind it'd be you, Pennyloafer."

"Oh man… that would be hot." Bates said with a devilish grin.

Rasputin pats Bates on the shoulder. "Hey, Bates. The 21st Century called. They want their infantile machismo back."

Bates turned his head and asked Rasputin. "Infant- what now?"

Booker stayed quiet throughout the whole conversation, nobody noticed except Ashley. She could feel his anger rising, but when her eyes met his she knew it was time to tell everyone about their relationship. She nods and waves Booker over to stand next to her.

Ashley called for the entire squad's attention. "Actually there's something I need to tell you guys. Booker and I…"

Before Ashley could finish the sentence, Donk shouted at the top of his lungs and stood at attention. "Ten-hut!"

At that moment the entire bar went silent. Everyone in the 212 stood at attention when they realized that their commanding officer, Lieutenant Johnson had just entered the bar. He glided through the bar while walking with his hands behind his back.

"Ladies." Johnson said. "I see your living up to the high standards of the 212. Been enjoying yourselves?"

A collective response from everyone answered his question. "Sir. Yes, Sir."

"At ease… I'm not interested in what you do on your time off." Johnson said as he approached the bar and everyone in the room released themselves from their standing formation. "Unfortunately, you're on duty as of now. I got a recon mission for you. The science team dug some beacon thing out and they want it protected." Johnson grabbed the rum and takes a big swig. He places the bottle down and looked at Dog Squad. "Sergeant Donk, you're taking lead on this one"

"Sir, I thought Williams was squad leader?" Donkey quipped.

"Not this time." Johnson said. "Get your gear and you'll be briefed on the details. The same goes for the rest of the 212. Dismissed."

The bar was emptied, but not before Johnson stopped Ashley and Booker. He looked at Ashley and said. "Williams, you know why I don't trust you?"

Ashley was quietly fuming with rage, but her disciplined mind was firmly taking control of the situation. "I can guess, sir."

Then Johnson was inches from her face when he plainly states. "Your friends might not see it, but I do. You can't escape your past, Williams."

"If you say so, sir." Ashley responded.

"I just did." Johnson pulls away from Ashley and moved over to Booker. "And DeWitt, don't think I forgot about you."

"You can't do anything to me." Booker said. "I'm retired."

"Actually, your retirement has been put on hold." Johnson smirked. "You're going with the rest of your squad and Donk is squad leader on this one."

"You can't do that." Booker protested.

"I just did." Johnson smiled. "Besides, this order comes from the top and I'm only relaying the orders."

"From who?" Booker's confusion was mixing in with his frustration.

"From what I can tell you the orders come from a respected Captain, a high ranking Admiral, and even the ambassador on the Citadel sent his own orders. They'd be the ones holding you back for now." Johnson moved closer to Booker. "Other than that, it's strictly a need-to-know basis and that's all you need to know." Now Johnson was only inches away from Booker's face. "And I wanted to see you serve one last mission with Dog Squad. I'd told you I'd keep an eye on you."

* * *

Booker was grumbling quietly to himself as he and the rest of Dog Squad were marching towards the Prothean dig site, fully armed with their weapons and gear which includes their helmets. Booker was thinking to himself. "_That goldbricking, sonofabitch, hack of an officer_. "

Booker was tailing Ashley and Bates while Penny, Jenner, and Rasputin followed. Donk was leading the squad at the front of the patrol formation.

The entire division was briefed about what the Prothean relic was. As it turned out the relic turned out to be a beacon created by the Protheans and all the scientists can estimate was that this beacon was roughly fifty to a hundred thousand years old. The word 'beacon' was now on the minds of the division, but they ask themselves that if it is a beacon, what is the beacon transmitting? What they have learned was that the Citadel wanted to be part of this research and in the spirit of diplomatic relations; the Alliance government was willing to transport this beacon to the Citadel itself. Unfortunately, Dog Squad wasn't given a transport like the other squads; they were given patrol duty which meant they had to report to the dig site on foot, which is a two day trek.

Bates was the first to complain about patrol duty. "Hey, Sarge. Why are they making us walk to the site when the other squads get to take a transport?"

"Orders." Donk simply put it. "Dog squad patrols from the colony to the beacon."

"That's bullshit." Bates groused. "It's going to take us another day to get there on foot."

Donk was suddenly annoyed with Bates complaining. He stopped Bates and told him. "You just earned yourself a trip to the front of the line, Bates. You got point tonight."

Bates only replied. "Goddamn it." Then he shuffled up towards the front of the patrol line.

Donk stopped as he let Ashley pass him by. "Williams, hang back a sec." He walked next to Ashley to her side.

Jenner took notice. "She didn't say yes before. She's not saying yes now, Donkey."

Booker found himself walking a little closer towards Donk and Ashley while he listened in on the conversation.

"Sergeant Donkey." Ashley states. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted you to know." Donk said with sincerity in his voice. "I think you should be leading this mission. The Lieutenant's an ass."

Ashley didn't stop walking. She kept moving forward as her eyes towards the horizon. "The Lieutenant's the same as all the officers. He thinks because of my grandfather surrendered at Shanxi I'm going to do the same thing." Then she looks at Donk with a smile. "And he's an ass."

"You know the squad doesn't think that about you." Donk continued. "You and DeWitt got the biggest balls of anyone in our whole platoon. You keep your head on straight when things go crazy. You stick around, eventually somebody's gonna recognize that."

Ashley moved her head a little closer to Donk and asked jokingly. "You still trying to get me to sleep with you?"

"Sure, but it doesn't mean I don't mean it." Donk said, but he suddenly had to ask her another question as he looks at Booker using his peripheral vision. "But something tells me that you're already spoken for. What was it that you were going to say back at the bar?"

"Let's stop for a moment." Ashley requested.

"Squad, halt!" Donk ordered. "What's up, Williams?"

"I know some of you wanted to know back at the bar and I wanted to tell you something." Ashley said. "Booker and I… are dating."

The squad was quiet, but they didn't make any signs of shock or amazement. Then it was Penny who broke the silence and asked. "Since when?"

Booker answered. "For a few weeks now."

"I think she means what day exactly?" Rasputin followed.

"Right when we found out about the alien relics." Booker asked.

"HA!" Bates yelled from the front. "I won the pool."

"What?" Ashley's eyes narrowed. "What pool?"

Everyone began to look guilty at first, but a big smile crept across Bates mouth and he was happy to explain. "We had a pool going on. The bet was 'when was DeWitt and Williams going to hook-up.' We each picked a day and I came the closest."

Ashley was shocked while Booker was surprisingly quiet. Ashley asked. "What made you think that we were going to hook-up?"

"Oh, please Williams." Donk spoke up. "You always talk about him, even when he's not around."

"Yeah, it was almost idol worship." Penny said. "So we came up with the idea of placing a pool on when you and he will eventually get together."

"Yeah and winning the pool will sure take the edge off taking point tonight." Bates said with a grin.

"Ahhh! Let's press on." Ashley was agitated with what the rest of the squad has confessed.

Donkey ordered the squad to move on while Booker was blushing behind his helmet. He was glad nobody can see it, because Penny and Rasputin strolled up to him.

"Hey DeWitt, you don't seem angry about it. Why?" Penny asked.

"Oh, I'm angry." Booker quietly told her so Ashley wouldn't hear him. "Not the kind of angry you'd think I would be. I'm angry that you didn't let me in on the pool. I always love a game of chance." Booker smiled as he watches the Chief in front of him.

* * *

During the second night of Dog Squad's patrol; they crossed by a rocky ledge, trying to find the rest of 212, and see if they have set up camp near the Prothean beacon.

Booker recognized the area and asked Ashley. "Isn't this place close to where I first came to this colony?"

"Yeah, the spaceport is only a few clicks that way." She points in the northeastern direction. Then she turns around and smiles. "Reminiscing when we first met?"

"I was actually thinking about all this time the relic was close to a settlement…" Then Booker smiled back. "But now that I think about it, I do have a bit of a soft spot from that moment in time."

Donk entered the conversation. "If you two want fifteen minutes behind the bushes, it'll have to wait. We're getting closer to the dig site, but we can't get a signal. I've been trying for hours but nobody is responding."

"Is something jamming the signal?" Ashley asked.

"We don't know." Donk said. "I sent Bates up ahead on top of that ridge. Me and Jenner are going up there to see if he saw anything. Stay here, we'll be right back."

"Right sarge." Booker said as Donk began hiking up the rocks as Jenner followed behind.

Booker, Ashley, Penny, and Rasputin waited patiently for roughly ten minutes.

"I have to admit, this doesn't sound right." Penny said.

"I agree. We should have heard anything from Able and Charlie Squads." Rasputin said as he sounds like he is about to panic. "Now we hear nothing from Bravo Squad."

"For all we know, it could just be a communication problem on our end." Booker said trying to calm Rasputin down.

"Yeah or maybe sunspots, this star system has them quite a bit." Ashley added.

Just then they receive a signal. To their disappointment, it wasn't Able, Bravo, or Charlie Squad. It was Donk. "_I want a full sweep and in pairs. Penny, you're with me. Booker with Bates. Ash, I want you to stick with Jenner and Rasputin. Flashlights on. Check your targets. We may still have friendlies out there_."

"What happened?" Booker asked.

"_I think we found Bravo squad_." Donk said.

The sense of doom and gloom hovered over Dog Squad when Donk made a positive identification of their brother Squad's whereabouts. After Booker and Bates cleared the rocky ridge, that's when they saw the bodies littering the scene.

Booker was putting his detective skills to use and examined the first body. It was a woman judging by the armor's curvature. He ran the light from his flashlight over her hands and noticed the dead body's details. He noticed whatever shot her, there was an entrance wound through her armor and it was burnt through, there weren't any signs of bleeding.

Booker examined the other bodies lying around and said. "Looks like they didn't even have a chance to draw their weapons."

Bates was still staring at the first body he examined. "I knew her. We came to Eden Prime on the same transport. Oh God."

Booker knew he was about to lose it so he told him. "Bates. Calm down and look at me. Well get through this. I'll cover your back, okay?"

"Yeah. I got it." Bates nervously replied. "But it's easy for you to say, you've seen dead bodies. This is my first. Not to mention that I happen to know some of these people. How did you deal with it? I mean after, Torfan."

Booker thought to himself. _With a lot of drinking and gambling_. But he didn't want Bates to know this so his verbal response was simple. "You don't. You just have to learn to deal with it on your own." Booker taps Bates on his shoulder. "You'll be alright soldier."

Dog Squad gathered around a nearby swamp and discourses what they have found out on the field. They were gathering numbers of the dead they had encountered and Penny was tallying the numbers.

"I count fourteen. That's all of Bravo." Penny said with a solemn voice.

Just then, the comm channel comes back to life. The signal was broken up, but it was enough to make out what they were saying. "_…taking fire… unknown enemy… at the beacon…_"

Donk's response was. "Oh God."

"What do we do?" Penny asked.

"I don't know." It's all Donk can say.

"You don't know?" Booker replied, but then he looks at Ashley and it gives him an idea. He strolled up to Donk and whispered something in his ear.

Donk just stopped and takes a deep breath. He nods and his reply is. "Listen up. Ash is taking over the squad. This just became a real mission. We need a real leader."

Ashley looked at Booker and her eyes beamed in determination. She looks at her squad mates and makes her first orders. "We can't do anything for Bravo, but we can help the others. We'll have to double-time it to the beacon, but we need to be smart about this. Deliberate and disciplined. With any luck, we catch them off guard. Either way, they're about to find out why Dog Squad is the baddest, most dangerous squad on this rock!"

As if on cue, everybody raised their fists in the air and shouted "Hooah!"

"Thanks for that." Donk quietly said to Ashley.

"Don't thank me yet, Donkey." Ashley quietly replied to Donk. Then she inches over to Booker. "Actually, if anyone should be thanking anybody…"

"Don't thank me, Ash." Booker quietly said to her. "My time is over, but you have a chance to show the galaxy that you're not cursed. I have faith in you and I know you can lead this squad."

* * *

They did what Ashley ordered Dog Squad to do; they double-time their approach to the dig site in hopes of finding survivors. When they came closer to the site, they can see towers in the distance and farming settlements on the horizon. So far nothing out of the ordinary, but that was until they saw smoke coming from a rock formation. It looked more like a rock quarry that suffered a bad explosion.

Booker, Bates, and Ashley pushed on ahead and hid behind a rock for cover, while the rest of Dog Squad held back in their positions. They searched around the area using their binoculars; they found movement and got a closer look at their enemy.

"Those look like mechs." Ashley said.

"Or geth." Bates said.

That caused a bit of an alarm with Booker. He aimed his sights at one of the mechs and got a look at what the Lutece twins told him about less than a year ago. He saw one. It was mechanized; the body was white, it walked fluidly, three fingers, two large toes, wires coming from its back which formed into an elongated head, and a single flash of light coming out where its face should be.

"That's the geth?" Booker asked.

"Geth? This far outside the Perseus Veil?" Ashley asked.

Booker tuned out of the small talk Ashley and Bates were having. He remembered what the Luteces said about this place becoming a battle and mentioning about a mechanical race called the geth. Then he recalled that these creatures being led by a turian.

Now he was focused on the geth and it was pulling a body of what appeared to be a soldier's body. It lifted the body and rested the body backside on the strange tripod. When Booker takes a closer look at the body, he realized the soldier was still moving. Then the mechanical man pressed something on the control panel and a spike shot up from the tripod. The soldier was instantly impaled.

Ashley and Bates gasped when they saw the man in his position, Booker didn't make sound. They didn't have time to react when the three were spotted by a flying disk firing a pulsing blue energy beam.

"Down! They spotted us!" Ashley ordered.

Booker aimed his rifle at the disk and the flying object exploded. Ashley rushed down from the rocky ledge with Bates and Booker following behind her. Ashley got on the comm link and gave out her orders. "In positions people! Like we planned it!"

The three circled around the path towards where Donk, Jenner, Penny, and Rasputin were waiting behind a pile of rocks while Booker, Ashley, and Bates ducked behind some bushes. They knew this will call the attention of the geth and hopefully they will follow them into this trap they made.

Booker takes cover behind a tree. He takes a moment to gather his thoughts and he becomes ready to spring the trap. He quickly takes his glove off and stares at his left hand. He attempts to ready his hand with one of his many powers, because he's going to find out if the vigors will have an effect on the geth. When he tried to get his Possession ready, he realized that it wasn't working. Then Booker realized that his body was low on salts. He cursed himself for forgetting to drink his ration of salts. He pulls out a cylinder tube and he's about to drink, but then the firefight began. He dropped his container.

The strategy was to draw the geth's fire and grab their attention. Donk, Jenner, Penny, and Rasputin fired their rifles at the geth and so far the plan was working. The mechanical creatures attacked the four while Booker, Ashley, and Bates were still hiding in the bushes.

"_Hurry it up, Chief!_" Rasputin called on the radio. "_We're taking a beating down here!_"

"_Just a few more seconds_…" Ashley said while Booker made his rifle ready. "_Now!_"

With one order, Ashley, Booker, and Bates sprung out of the bushes and shot the geth while their backs were turned. The geth were mowed down and for a moment it seems like the geth was about to be wiped out by Dog Squad. That's what it seems, but that was before geth reinforcements showed up. Penny was the first to get hit by one of the geth rifles.

Ashley ran up to Bates and she yelled "Get down!" Then she fired off a few rounds at an approaching geth. When she got up, Bates was panicking.

Ashley regained her composure and gave another order. "Get on the radio, Jenner! We need to warn somebody! Anybody!"

Jenner grabbed his long-range communicator and screamed. "We are under attack, taking heavy casualties! I repeat, taking heavy casualties! We need…" Just then, Jenner's chest exploded when one of the energy beams tears through his chest.

Booker kept shooting, but then an explosion rocked on his right side and he was thrown back near the bushes where he hid before. He was still conscious and he didn't lose any of his appendages, when he looked around and tried to get back into the fight he saw something that he needed. It was his missing salts canister.

When he reached for the canister, he heard the most unearthly sound he ever heard. The sound reminded him of Songbird back in Columbia, but Songbird's sound was an ear-piercing screeching noise. This sound was deep and booming. It was so loud the very ground shook. He looked up to the sky and saw a massive black object descending from the sky. It reminded Booker of a scorpion and it was emitting red lightning bolts from the crevices of the object.

"What the hell is that?" Rasputin called to Ashley. "Chief! We're getting torn apart! We've gotta move… ugh!" Rasputin was the next one to take a shot in the chest and fell to the ground.

"Get behind those rocks! Retreat!" Ashley gave the order, but there was nobody around to follow. Donk was the latest to have gotten killed. Ashley ducked behind the rocks and she called again. "Bates! I need support! You there! Booker! Anyone? Please!"

She hid behind the rock and she spoke out. "God, throw me a bone here. It can't end like this." Then as she is about to be overrun by the geth, something happened. The geth closest to Ashley was consumed by a green mist and then it turns around and open fire on its allies. "What the?"

"Ash! This way!" Booker came up behind her and she saw Booker holding up his left hand.

She looked back at the geth consumed by green mist and continued to attack the other geth. She pulled back with Booker behind another rock.

"What happened to that geth?" Ashley asked.

"That was the Possession." Booker said as the allied geth was destroyed by the other geth. The remaining geth spot Booker and Ashley, and continued their onslaught. Then he pulls up his left hand again.

Ashley was gasping when his hand was turning black and the skin was peeling off. "What's wrong with your hand?"

"This is called, Return to Sender!" Booker summoned his power while the geth continued firing at their position. To Ashley's amazement, the energy pulses from the geth rifles are only bouncing off an invisible force field. Then a ball of orange energy formed around his hand and the ball of energy shoots from his hand. The energy ball tore through a few geth.

"How the hell are you doing this?" Ashley demanded to know. "Is that an AMP?"

"Just a second!" Booker aims his rifle. "Ash, no matter what you see get ready to shoot these tin men, got it?"

"Got it! What are you going to do?" Ashley asked pointing her rifle.

"Bucking Bronco!" Booker raised his left hand again and unleashed his power.

The remaining geth were lifted from the ground and hovered six feet from the surface. The effects was only going to last a few seconds, but it was more than enough time for both Booker and Ashley to gun down the remaining geth soldiers.

Before Ashley can ask the first question, she is knocked over to the side by a geth soldier. The thing had a firm grip on Booker's rifle as it tried to kill him with its own three fingered hand.

"Omni-hook!" Booker used his voice command and his Omni-tool produced his Omni-hook. Then he takes his hook and uses it as a melee weapon. He slams it in the geth's light fixture. Then Booker rams the hook into the geth's neck area and spins the peg. The geth's neck was snapped and the thing's head lobbed off just like the police, soldiers, and Vox Populi of Columbia. The only difference is, instead of red blood coming out it was a white oily substance that spurted out.

When the battle ended, Booker was breathing heavily. Ashley eyes were wide and her mouth dangling. She couldn't believe what she saw. This was a part of Booker she never saw or anyone for that matter.

"What was all that stuff you were doing?" Ashley asked with a little stress in her voice. "What kind of AMPs are those?"

"They're not AMPs." Booker began to confess. "Remember those concoctions I was making back at my house?"

"Yes?" Ashley said.

"That was my personal project." Booker told. "Those vats were called vigors. When you take a swig, you develop powers."

"Then why didn't you use it before?" Ashley asks angrily.

"I ran out of salts." Booker told her.

"Salts?" Ashley now looked confused.

Booker pulled out a half-empty canister of the blue formula. "Salts are what it's called. It's what fuels my powers. I realized at the last minute that I ran out. I must've sweated it all out when we were forced to come here on foot. I was going to take some, but that's when the attack started. If I wasn't late taking it, we could've save… oh God. Donkey. Jenner." Booker ran to the bodies of their squad mates. Ashley followed behind.

"Rasputin. Penny." Ashley added looking over their bodies.

Booker looked over Jenner's body and said in his Sioux language. "_You fought with honor and I will see you in the next world, Akecheta_."

Then Ashley came up and looked over Jenner's body. She takes the long range communicator Jenner used to call for help. "It looks like someone got our signal. From the looks of it, it's a ship. Jenner pulled through."

"Wait, where's Bates?" Booker asked.

"I don't know." Ashley looked at the tracker on her rifle. "We don't have time. We got more geth coming this way."

"Let's get out of here." Booker said. "It's cruel to leave our friends behind, but…"

"You don't have to tell me, twice." Ashley said and the two Chiefs took off.

When Booker and Ashley left, a head popped up from a nearby pond. It was Bates. During his panic and consumed by fear, he fled the battle. When he looked around, he can hear the mechanical sound of the geth fast approaching as he went back into hiding.

* * *

Booker and Ashley didn't stop moving, they kept going until they found a settlement or a military presence. They were still in denial of what has happened, especially the loss of their entire squad and the whole 212. Ashley was probably more confused at the moment, realizing that her newest boyfriend possessed abilities beyond any logical reason and now they were on the run from what could possibly be the geth.

Ashley urged Booker to stop and when they did, she checked the map on her Omni-tool. "It looks like the dig site is over here." She points on the screen. "The 232 could still be fighting."

Booker and Ashley were about to head over to the site, when they were greeted by more of those flying disk drones. They retreated back and took cover behind a large rock.

"Shit!" Ashley yelled.

"I don't think we're going to be getting help from the 232." Booker said.

Ashley looked at her Omni-tool, because she was getting a signal. A ship had touched down and the ship's signature marks as an Alliance vessel. "Booker. Just over that ridge, a ship just sent reinforcements. They have to know what's happened here and what they're up against."

"What about you?" Booker asked.

"I'll have to hold them back here!" Ashley readied her rifle.

"I can't leave you like this!" Booker protested.

"That's an order, DeWitt!" Ashley snapped back. "I'll take care of myself, just bring back help!"

"Yes, Chief!" Booker replied and moved in closer to her. "Just come back to me."

Ashley made a small smile and said. "Just as long you come back to me."

Booker takes one last look at Ashley and ran to where the reinforcements could be coming from. Booker didn't stop; he brushed aside a few gasbags floating along and keeping an eye open for more of those machines. Then he hears the sound that same pulsating fire from one of those geth rifles. He takes cover and notices four of those disk flying drones shooting at something over an empty meadow. He can see two men wearing dark colored armor taking cover behind some rocks, while one of the men was lying dead on the ground. Booker knew they needed help, so he rests his assault rifle down and pulls out his sniper rifle. He takes steady aim and squeezes the trigger. His target exploded and he followed suite with the other remaining drones.

When he knew it was safe, Booker checked to see if the other two soldiers are still alive. He moved closer towards the men as they show themselves to Booker. One soldier came up to him while the other soldier checked on the dead soldier.

The first soldier to greet him pulled his helmet off. He had solid black hair and tanned skin. "Thanks for the assistance back there. I'm Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko."

Booker took his helmet off and he greeted himself. "I'm Gunnery Chief Booker DeWitt of the 212."

"DeWitt?" Kaiden was taken back with the mention of that name. "I've heard of you."

"I guess a lot of people have." Booker replied and then the other soldier approached Booker as he took notice of the N7 logo on his body armor.

"I've also heard of you." The man said as he pulled his helmet off. He had short hair, a distinguishable scar above his forehead, a broad face, and piercing blue eyes. "Chief DeWitt? I'm Commander Shepard. Can you fill us in what's going on here?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Infinite Galaxy**

**Chapter 7**

Booker didn't know what to think right now. He has already lost his division, his squad, and his friends to a race of mechanical men known as the geth. Now he was standing before the presence of Commander John Shepard, a man he knew only through the extranet, his journal logs, and he remembered his name being mentioned by Lieutenant Johnson. He remembered Johnson saying something about Booker standing beside Shepard for their actions.

While Booker was studying the Commander, Shepard was taking in a look at Booker's face in full detail. His skin was caked with sweat and dirt, showing more of the wrinkles on his forehead and the crow's feet around his eyes in the man's advanced age. Then Shepard noticed the look on Booker's green eyes. To a seasoned veteran like Shepard, he knows those are the kind of eyes that witnessed war and death.

_The Butcher of Torfan meets the Lion of Elysium_. Booker thought to himself before answering Shepard's request of situation on Eden Prime. "Commander. My division, the 212, was ordered to guard the beacon. Our division was picked to go on patrol while the other squads took transports. That's when they attacked. Our squad came straggling along when the other squads bought the farm."

"Who attacked?" Shepard asked.

"We don't know, but we think they could be the geth." Booker told the Commander and the Lieutenant as they glint in disbelief.

"The geth?" Kaidan said. "The geth haven't been seen from the Perseus Veil for over two hundred years. Why would they show up here and now?"

"That's what we've said." Booker explained. "It's the only explanation we got and I think they're after the beacon."

"Are there any other survivors, DeWitt?" Shepard asked.

"Just me and the squad leader, Gunnery Chief Williams." Booker said. "She ordered me to get in contact with the reinforcements…" Booker looked behind Shepard and Kaidan. "You're all they've sent?" Booker realized the situation looks grim.

"The Normandy was the only ship in the area during the attack." Shepard explained. "There were others. We have a turian Spectre named Nihlus, whom we are supposed to rendezvous at the dig site and…" Shepard was slightly dejected to say the other soldier's name. "We had Corporal Jenkins."

"The beam from that drone just cut through his armor." Kaidan said with a sadden tone. "This was his home colony, too."

"Damn shame. I'm sorry for his loss and I'm sure he'll be remembered, but right now Chief Williams is holding back some of those geth mechs up ahead." Booker told the two officers. "If you follow me, I'll take you to her."

Shepard put his helmet back on as Kaidan and Booker did the same. "Alright, Chief. This is your planet. Show us the way."

"Aye aye, sir." Booker replied. "This way."

As Shepard and Kaidan followed Booker through the same path he came after leaving Ashley to fend for herself.

Kaidan couldn't help but ask Booker while they quickly tried to reach Ashley's position. "Hey Chief, I mean to ask you something. Shouldn't you be the team leader?"

"What do you mean?" Booker asked.

Kaidan choose his words carefully before he asks. "Aren't you more, uh… experienced in these matters?"

"What?" Booker asked again.

"I mean, shouldn't the more experienced personnel be in charge and you're taking orders from someone else?" Kaidan awkwardly asked.

"If you're implying about my old age kid, don't worry." Booker said. "I should've been discharged two days ago. Retired. But my goddamn CO said my retirement has been put on hold by orders from the higher ups."

Shepard lightly laughed. "I think he was asking about your situation back on Torfan, Chief. About your discharge being held back, I can explain that."

"You'll have to tell me later, Commander. We're approaching where I left Williams." Booker pointed over the ridge.

Booker, Shepard, and Kaidan the followed down the narrow ridge where the sound of gunfire was taking place. When Booker saw the white and pink armor leaning against the side of the rock, still pulling the trigger, he felt a rush of relief to see Ashley still among the living. However, she was in the middle of fight with two geth soldiers who had just put a colonist on one of those tripod spikes. Booker, Shepard, and Kaidan helped Ashley take out the two geth through their help.

Ashley was the first to say. "Thanks for your help, Commander. I didn't think I was going to make it."

Shepard introduced himself. "Gunnery Chief Williams? I'm Commander Shepard of the Normandy and this is Lieutenant Kaidan. Chief DeWitt brought us up to speed on what's going on here. Are you wounded, Williams?"

Ashley answered. "A few scrapes and burns. Nothing serious. The others weren't so lucky."

"What can you tell us, Williams?" Shepard requested.

Ashley stood rigid and her answer was simple. "All I can say, Commander is that dig site is right behind that rise over there and the 232 should be there. However, we haven't heard anything coming from them."

"What about the rest of the 212?" Kaidan asked.

"You're looking at it, sir." Booker said. "We're all what's left of the 212. Whether they are geth or not, they came in hard and fast. Catching the rest of our division off guard."

"How did you two survive?" Shepard asked.

Booker couldn't answer right away, although he was thinking of the answer. _Using Columbia's finest vigors against an alien race of machines_.

It was Ashley answered the question right away. "Our squad was on patrol and we were the patrolling the perimeter and that's when they attacked. We managed to get a slight edge over the geth, but that didn't last too long. Their reinforcements cut us down." Ashley finished that last speech with a mix of solemn, depression, and anger while she looked at Booker.

This time Booker continued. "When we found out your ship was coming, we quickly headed over here and we were hoping to run into the 232. The rest of the story you already know."

"What about a turian Spectre? Did you see him?" Shepard asked.

"Sorry Commander, no turians." Ashley said. "This is a human colony and aliens would tend to stand out here so we saw nothing like that."

"Williams? DeWitt? We can use your help right now." Shepard said.

"Just say the word, Commander." Booker said.

"Aye, aye, sir. It's time for payback." Ashley gripped her rifle ever so tightly. "The dig site is just up ahead."

"Lead the way, Chiefs." Shepard said.

Shepard took lead while Kaidan held back slightly behind the Commander. Ashley didn't stray too far away from Booker. Ashley walked side by side with Booker and she leaned in. She wanted to ask him some questions and the tone was quiet enough for only Booker to hear. "Booker. What about those powers you'd used earlier? Aren't you going to use them?"

Then Booker leans over while they continue their trek to the dig site. "I could, but how will I explain that to Shepard and Alenko?"

"What about that we say that they're AMPs?" Ashley asked.

"Well, that could work." Booker said. "But I have another problem. I'm running low on my salts. I'll have to conserve my rations."

"We'll have to hold on, we're coming up ahead." Ashley said and called to Shepard. "Commander. The dig site is just over here."

As they arrived at the dig site, they were greeted by a few geth guarding the area. The four soldiers didn't have trouble taking the geth out and after the battle ended they examined the ruins.

Ashley looked at an empty spot where she read the report that the beacon was being held. "This is the dig site. The beacon was right here. It must've been moved."

"By who? Our side? Or the geth?" Kaidan asked.

"The geth." Booker said while putting his tracking skills to use. He was already examining the soil around the ruins. He studied the footprints and the patterns that formed around them. "They walk light on their feet, but they're still heavy enough to leave tracks behind. It leads to the top of the hill behind the ruins."

"That must be the research camp." Ashley said.

Shepard looked at Booker and asked him. "You think anyone got out of here alive?"

"If they're alive, that camp would be the first place they'd go." Booker said.

"Let's head up there." Shepard said.

As the four approached the camp; they found the camp ground in ruins. Sensitive equipment was thrown around, storage containers emptied, blood soaking the ground, and the only things standing were two pre-fab shelters and three bodies impaled on the spikes Ashley and Booker witnessed earlier.

The only difference is the spikes were coming down and releasing their victims. It was then the victims began to move and began making an eerie howl. It wasn't until the group got a clear view of what they were looking at. The beings were humanoid, but their skin turned blue and from the center of their exposed chests was a glowing bright blue hue and created a network of blue lines streaming all over their bodies. These humanoid creatures spotted the group with their glowing eyes and charged right at them without hesitation.

"What the hell are they?" Kaidan said.

"Take'em out!" Shepard ordered.

Shooting the first humanoid creature proved rather difficult, because the bullets hitting their bodies were just being absorbed into their skin. Despite the difficulty, the first creature went down.

Booker realized he needed to take the initiative on this action. He summoned one of his powers. He raised his left hand and gave the remaining two creatures a dose of Shock Jockey. The creatures were stunned as the jolts of electricity paralyzed their bodies. Booker, Shepard, Ashley, and Kaidan took the opportunity to open fire on their stunted bodies. Just like the Shock Jockey victims back on Columbia, especially when you open fire with rounds after rounds of bullets, the heads of the blue humanoid creatures exploded.

Before the group pressed on, Shepard was the first to ask. "What the hell was that, DeWitt?"

Booker realized he had to answer the question quickly, because he didn't want to get into a long and drawn out explanation about his vigors. "It's an experimental AMP I've been working on. It draws powers from my Omni-tool and it's fueled by… the salts in my body." Booker drew the last part of that sentence out a little longer as he searches for his salts canister. "I just need a quick recharge… just looking for something to replenish my…"

"Electrolyte levels?" Kaidan finished Booker's sentence as he pulled out a small can of soda. "Here, drink this."

Booker grabbed the can and read the label. It said _Tupari_. Booker opened the can and asked before taking a big swig of the drink. "What is it?" Then he gagged after tasting how bitter the drink was when it hit his mouth.

"Tupari." Kaidan said. "It's soda made by the asari. I'm a biotic and my electrolyte levels often get low, especially when I have to use my biotics. When you mentioned the drainage of electrolytes in your body, I thought you could use it and that soda will help replenish it. It's popular among the asari since they are all biotics."

That was something Booker never realized. This soda was just as bitter as the salts he had on Columbia and he suddenly felt a rush of relief. He felt he could unleash a title wave against the geth after getting past the disgusting taste of the bitter green soda. He almost felt a sudden feeling like he had wasted his time trying to distill a vat of salts back at his house when there are products in this time and age that would have been satisfactory to fuel his vigors.

After receiving information from a professor named Dr. Warren and her half-crazed assistant Manuel, who were locked up in one of the pre-fab buildings, they proceeded towards the spaceport which was the most logical place to extract an ancient alien beacon that was stolen from a race of sentient machines.

When the group marches over the hill, they saw an amazing site… and a frightening sight to see. To Booker and Ashley, it was a sight they had already seen. To Shepard and Kaidan, it was a strange sight to see. They were looking at the strange scorpion like ship Booker and Ashley had already seen descending on Eden Prime's atmosphere.

"What is that?" Kaidan asked as he pointed at the strange ship. "Off in the distance."

Booker was fighting the urge not to answer, because he doesn't know himself. It was Ashley who answered the question, at least to the best of her knowledge. "It's a ship. Look at the size of."

Despite the intimidating size of the ship as it returned to space, they continued towards the spaceport. They were met by a squad of geth and zombified humanoids. The squad of geth was eradicated as they pushed themselves further towards the spaceport.

When they searched for survivors, they found a group of farmers huddling in a pre-fab structure. When Shepard questioned the group, one of them slipped up on some information about a guy named Powell at the docks. Booker recognized the people who told about Powell and at the same time he felt a bit of pride knowing that he spotted out a corrupt dock hand when he first saw him when he arrived on Eden Prime.

When they arrived on the platform, Shepard and Kaidan spotted something that caught their attention. It was a dead body and the body was Nihlus. The Spectre Shepard was talking about, but to Booker this was the first time seeing an actual turian. He can barely recall ever seeing a turian in his borrowed life. Then again this the first time he had a nice look at what a turian looks like. He studied the creature's face and noticed the scales the thing had instead of skin. Then he noticed the mandibles and the fringe on its face. Not to mention the markings covering his face which Booker can't describe whether if it's a tattoo or face paint. _Was this the turian the twins were talking about?_ Booker thought to himself.

Before anyone can say anything about the fallen Spectre, Ashley was the first to point out while pointing her pistol at the movement in front of her. "Something's moving. Over behind those crates."

Then a man shows up. He was wearing a full bodied outfit with a skullcap to cover his head. He had his arms raised up and declared. "Wait! Don't! Don't shoot! I'm one of you! I'm human!"

"Sneaking up on us nearly got you killed." Shepard said.

"I'm sorry." The man said. "I was hiding from those creatures. My name is Powell. I saw what happened to that turian. The other one shot him."

"Other one?" Booker asked himself.

"I need to know how Nihlus died." Shepard asked.

Powell nervously continued. "The other one got here first. He was waiting when your friend showed up. He called him Saren. I think they knew each other. Your friend seemed to relax. He let his guard down… and Saren killed him. Shot him right in the back. I'm lucky he didn't see me behind the crates."

Booker's detective instincts when he asked Powell. "Did you see where this Saren character ran off to?"

"He jumped on the cargo train and headed over to the other platform. Probably going after the beacon." Powell said. "I knew that beacon was trouble. Everything's gone to hell since we found it. First that damn mother ship showed up. Then the attack. They killed everyone. Everyone. If I hadn't been behind the crates I'd be dead, too."

"How come you're the only one who survived?" Shepard asked. "Why didn't anyone else try to hide behind the crates?"

Powell explained. "They never had a chance. I… I was already behind the crates when the attack started."

Kaidan was the next to ask. "Wait a minute. You were behind the crates before the attack?"

"That's a bit suspicious." Booker said.

Now Powell had a look of guilt on his face. "I… sometimes I need a nap to get through my shift. I sneak off behind the crates to grab forty winks where the supervisor can't find me."

"You survived because you're lazy?" Ashley said bitterly at Powell.

Shepard was a bit more forgiving. "If you hadn't snuck off for that nap you'd probably be dead just like the others."

"Yeah, yeah. I guess. I don't really want to think about it." Powell said.

Then Shepard's tone changed as he asked. "We need to find that beacon before it's too late."

"Take the cargo train. That's where the other turian went." Powell answered and grew concerned when he noticed Booker looking at him penetratingly. "I… I can't stay here. I need to get away from all this."

"What's the hurry, Powell?" Booker asked while Powell stopped dead in his tracks. "I thought I should let you know that some of your friends just sold you out."

"What?" Powell almost gagged.

"I heard you have a little smuggling operation here." Booker said. "Weapons to be exact. Weapons that were supposed to be delivered to our base."

"Look." Powell was in near panic mode. "I just took a few items; I didn't think it would such a big deal."

"You greedy son of a bitch." Ashley was fuming. "We're trying to protect your sorry ass and you're ripping us off?"

"I didn't think we were harming anybody." Powell defended himself. "We're an agriculture colony. Who would attack us?"

"I'm sure they said the same thing back on Mindoir." Booker said. "Look what happened to them."

"A lot of marines died and they could've used that equipment." Shepard said. "I think you should atone for what you've done."

"Yeah." Booker agreed. "I think your store just opened up and I think we're getting the full military discount."

"Fine. Fine." Powell opened the nearest crate and displayed a collection of assault rifles and grenades. "I'm done with smuggling. Honest."

"Then you won't mind testifying on what had happened." Shepard said.

"Sure. Anything." Powell shakes his head. "I have to get out of here."

Shepard nods and Powell ran off. Now the group had better weapons and replenished their grenade stock. After they were satisfied with what they had, they proceeded towards the cargo train and attempted to catch up to this turian named Saren who apparently killed Nihlus.

After the short train ride, the four approached the platform but instead of finding a Prothean beacon they found four objects about the size of fuel tanks. After closer examination, the four tanks happen to be bombs.

Kaidan examined the bombs. "Demolition charges! The geth must have planted them."

"Then we have to disarm them… and quickly." Shepard said as he gazed at the timer. "If these things blow…"

"I can help." Booker raised his left hand and summoned his Possession spell. The charges to the bomb was engulfed in green mist and suddenly the machine was under his control.

For a split second, Kaidan was stunned. He couldn't believe what he just saw, but after a moment of amazement he immediately got to work on the bomb and he successfully deactivated it. "Got it. What the hell did you do, DeWitt?"

"Another AMP." Booker answered.

"No time to discuss it." Shepard said. "We got more up ahead. DeWitt, we can use that AMP of yours."

"No problem, Commander." Booker smiled.

With the help of Booker's Possession, the four were able to disarm the bombs with ease. The next phase of the plan was to secure the beacon for pick-up, which they found resting on the platform. Booker and the group examined this monolithic object. The base of the object was shaped like a crescent curve while the thin platform stood erected from the base of the crescent shape. It reminded him of a knife or a sword sticking into the stone like a story of the Arthurian legends. What was even odd to see was that the object was emitting a green glow.

While Shepard was trying to get a comm link to his ship; Booker, Ashley, and Kaidan couldn't take their eyes off the beacon.

"This is amazing." Kaidan said. "Actual working Prothean technology. Unbelievable!"

"It wasn't doing anything like that when they dug it up." Ashley said as she made a mental recap from the reports. Then she moved closer to the beacon. "Something must have activated it."

Booker and Kaidan walked away from the beacon as they overheard Shepard calling for his ship, the Normandy. While they approached the Commander, Ashley was distracted by the beacon's glow which is glowing more and more luminously. Then out of nowhere, a flash of light emitted from the beacon and Ashley was pulled into the beacon by a mysterious force.

Booker, Shepard, and Kaidan caught what was happening to her. Shepard was about to rescue the Gunnery Chief, but Booker was faster to reach her first. He grabbed her and pulled her away from her trap, but now it was Booker who was trapped in the stasis.

Booker couldn't pull himself away. To him it felt like he was being pulled in by a thousand hands and no way to resist. Then he began to levitate as he was forced to face the beacon.

"Booker!" Ashley screamed as she was lying on the ground being held back Kaidan and Shepard.

"Don't touch him!" Shepard ordered. "It's too dangerous!"

Then the images bombarded Booker. The images were coming in fast and he could feel it piercing through his brain. Then the beacon exploded, knocking him back ten feet as his body slammed on the surface of the platform.

Ashley quickly stood up and rushed over to his unconscious body. She looked at his face and pulled off his helmet. Ashley feared the worst when Booker was not responding to her pleas. "Booker! Booker!"

"Shepard to the Normandy!" Shepard got on his comm link. "Bring the ship down and get the med bay ready!"

"Please wake up, Booker!" Ashley pleaded again.

* * *

Booker's eyes began to open. He couldn't see well enough to identify where he was, but then he heard a girl's voice calling his name. "Booker. Please wake up, Booker."

Booker can see who was calling to him. He can make out the silhouette and it was obviously a young girl. "Ashley?"

"No, Booker." The girl said. "It's me. Elizabeth."

He can finally make out what he was looking at and it was true. It was Elizabeth… or Anna as he knew her as his daughter. "Elizabeth?" She was wearing her old wardrobe from when he first met her when she was trapped inside the tower. "Elizabeth it's you. But what happened to you after the river side?"

"There's no time to explain." She said as she helped him to his feet. "You'll have to follow me. There's something I have to show you."

When he looked around his surroundings, he realized where here was. He was back on Columbia and he was standing in front of the Hall of Heroes. Then he looked at his clothing. It was his old clothing. His ascot, his vest, his shoes, and when he felt his hair it was his old hairstyle.

Booker didn't know how he got back here, but he realized that he must follow her to get the answers. She opened the double doors and inside was the familiar lobby exhibit he once visited when he was searching for the Shock Jockey and had a confrontation with Major Slate. The only difference was there were no bodies lying around the lobby. They were gone. Another thing he noticed was that the other rooms to the Wounded Knee, the Boxer Rebellion, and the Lady Comstock memorial exhibits were locked with the words _Closed for renovations_ hanging in the front of the doors.

"Booker." Elizabeth said while she was working on opening the lock on another exhibit which he had no idea had existed before. "Over here."

"Elizabeth, maybe you can tell me what happened to me just now?" Booker asked.

"The Prothean beacon exploded." Elizabeth said. "The knowledge and the information of an extinct people are now placed inside your mind."

Then Booker looked at this door. "Really? What about this room? I don't remember this exhibition."

"They added it when you were away." Elizabeth told him as she got the lock opened. "It's at the other end of this exhibit where you have to be."

When Booker pushed open the double doors, he was bombarded by a familiar image. It was a large statue of him wearing his Alliance issued armor, holding an M-6 Carnifex pistol with one hand as he pointed in a direction as if he were leading an invisible army against an unknown enemy. Then it made sense when the words written above the statue, _The Battle of Torfan._

Booker couldn't believe what he was looking at. He and Elizabeth pressed forward as he saw the displays on the walls. Just like Wounded Knee and Boxer Rebellion exhibits, this area also showed a badly drawn cardboard imagery of the moon of Torfan, the walls were painted black which is dotted with white stars, and the badly drawn images of batarians hiding behind various structures.

"I can't believe it." Booker said. "They're displaying this?"

"You were there Booker." Elizabeth said. "Just like Wounded Knee. Not to mention you have seen Peking, as Comstock and just like you were at Torfan, in another life."

They came to another statue of Booker heroically battling off two batarians trying to kill him as he was aiming an M-8 Avenger at the two.

Then a familiar voice spoke through the intercom. It was a familiar voice. It was Major Slate. "_After humanity takes to the stars and the hopes that follow, to leave the planet Earth to much excitement and sorrow._"

"Slate?" Booker yelled. "Is that you? I thought I killed you!"

"_When humanity made contact with the alien races, looking in awe and disgust at their extraneous faces. Those faces warned us of the dangers of making gatherings in the Terminus, trying to control humanity in the name of what is best for us._" Then Slate took a short break while Booker and Elizabeth continue to listen to Slate's rant.

"_Then the batarian pirate hordes began to raid planets claimed by the Alliance, the Council would not allow us to strike back without its compliance. Without any proof that the Hegemony was behind pirate bouts, our Human Systems Alliance military and its colonies began to have doubts._"

"Slate!" Booker shouted. "What do you want from us?"

"_When all seemed impossible to find proof of the Hegemony's crimes of deceit, on Elysium is where they taste the cold steel of defeat. When the proof the Alliance had in their hands made the charges fit, and then begins a series of great battles known as the Skyllian Blitz._"

Booker then became slightly annoyed as he said quietly to Elizabeth. "Trying to rhyme 'fit' and 'blitz'? Awful."

"_Then comes one of our heroes of that war, bred and trained for what he was made for. Chief Booker DeWitt led his division to raid the Torfan moon; the batarian pirates knew their fate of death was coming soon. For the pirates tried to fight his division of all, the batarians were dead before their bodies fall. For these four-eyed brutes they had never felt the fear of a human man, but forever they will know Booker DeWitt as The Butcher of Torfan._"

"Is there a reason for all this, Slate?" Booker asked forcibly.

"_Of course there is, my boy._" Slate said. "_What you did back on Torfan was no different than what you have done back at Wounded Knee. Both times you showed everyone that you're a real soldier. You did me a favor by giving me a soldier's death that day here at the hall of Comstock's lies._"

"How is Wounded Knee and Torfan the same? It was no different from each other?" Booker asked.

"_You slaughtered without conviction, without hesitation, and without mercy_." Slate said.

"How would you know?" Booker snapped. "You weren't at Torfan!"

"_I saw the helmet cameras_." Slate said as one of the blank walls projected a hazy image of someone rushing towards an empty cargo hold.

The image at the bottom right hand corner read _11/05/2178, DeWitt, B._ Then Booker realized that this was the camera from his own helmet. The cargo hold was housing at least two dozen batarian pirates and he was ready to spring his attack on the possible hostiles.

Then something happened. The batarians began coming out from behind the crates, but they were not attacking. They had their arms ups and threw their weapons to the side. One of the batarians said. "_We surrender. Don't shoot, human_."

Suddenly DeWitt's voice on the screen came up. "_Did you show mercy to the colonies you've raided? How many families did you kill and the lives you destroyed? How many? How many?!_" He squeezed the trigger from his assault rifle and the batarian pirates were torn to shreds by Booker's wrath. "_For Fiona! For Anna!_"

After the feed ends, Booker was silent. He was breathing hard when he had another memory rush. He remembered and then he looked at Elizabeth, but she was just standing next to Booker's statue. She didn't show any sign of emotion or judgment. She just stood there.

Slate's voice returned. "_You see, you never accepted surrender and why should you, they were nothing but brutes, dishonorable creatures that chose to surprise their targets instead of fighting them face to face in glorious battle. And for plausible reason too, wasn't your wife killed and daughter kidnapped by these four-eyed freaks?_"

"But, Anna." Booker looks at Elizabeth. "She's right here. Isn't she?"

"_Haven't you figured it out?_" Slate said. "_This is just a vivid dream. You had to rescue your special lady soldier, Chief Williams from the ensnarement of that Prothean beacon. We are just figments of your imagination._"

"Now you have to see behind that door." Elizabeth said as she presented a door which appeared right next to the statue. The door wasn't like the doors on Columbia; it was a sliding door with a green holographic light in the center. She opened the door and stepped inside while Booker followed. "The Council wants to see you."

"The Council?" Booker asked when he realized that he was inside a grandiose room. It looked like a great hall and at the end of the hall were three podiums. "Now where are we?"

"The Council Chambers on the Citadel." Elizabeth said.

"The Citadel?" Booker asked and looked around the amazing sight. "I've only seen this on pictures and vids. But why am I here?"

"To see the Council." Elizabeth said as she pointed at the podiums.

"I remember you, DeWitt. I remember you earning the name _The White Injun_ after Wounded Knee." To the left podium stood Major Cornelius Slate.

Booker couldn't believe that he was seeing his old Major again. He still looked the same; wearing the same grey uniform, a shaved head and thick white beard, and an eye patch to cover the large scar and the missing eye.

A woman's voice echoed through the chambers. "I remember him as _The Martyr of the Revolution_." The voice belonged to Daisy Fitzroy. She stood behind the center podium and she was still wearing her tattered outfit and red Vox Populi sash.

"Of course, he's also known as _The False Shepherd._" The third voice belonged to none other than Zachery Comstock. He stood behind the right podium.

Booker was too shocked to say anything. He was looking at three people who were supposed to be dead, but then again Slate did said this was a vivid dream and perhaps there was a point to have all three of these people here.

Comstock was the first to speak. "Booker DeWitt. You have been brought here, because like me in my life… you had a vision. A vision of prophecy."

Booker replied with a sardonic tone. "Let me guess, are you suggesting I should start my own Columbia and claim to be a prophet?"

"No DeWitt, you'd received a vision of a cycle." Fitzroy said. "An endless cycle that has happened many times over."

"A cryptic warning of things to come." Slate said. "Of war and bloodshed. Extinction of all sentient life in the galaxy."

"What?" Booker eyes widened and then he takes a gaze at Elizabeth. "What do they mean?"

"They mean the beacon is a warning of things to come." Elizabeth replied.

"The beacon was made by the Protheans." Comstock said. "It contained a message from an extinct race."

"A message now stuck in your head." Fitzroy said. "We just need a way to get it out."

"How?" Booker asked. "You're gonna kill me and remove my brain?"

"Not a bad proposal, but no." Fitzroy smiled.

"What you will need is an asari, to meld your mind with." Slade said.

"Alright, that shouldn't be too hard. Just find an asari." Booker said.

"Not just any asari, mind you." Comstock said. "The asari has to be someone you can trust, not just some harlot you come across in your regular visits of those dens of sin."

"Still self-righteous as always, huh?" Booker quietly said to himself.

"It is also because you cannot let anyone know where you really come from. They wouldn't understand." Comstock said. "Now this meeting is adjured."

"You have to go now, Booker." Elizabeth said while pressing her hand on his chest.

"Wait, Elizabeth I have to know…" Booker felt odd as his head began to throb in pain. "Uh, my head. Where are you? Are you alive?"

"Yes, I'm still alive." Elizabeth said. "And I'm safe, for now. You need to wake up… wake up and maybe I'll find you."

"What?" Booker's head began to throb harder as he began to lose focus on Elizabeth.

"Right now, you need to wake up." It was the last thing he heard from Elizabeth.

* * *

Booker's eyelids fluttered as he slowly began to see what was going on. He thought to himself. _What was that dream about? It was way too realistic_. He tried to lift his head, but his head felt the same way the Lutece's memory machine did to him before coming to this era.

Then a familiar voice called out. "Doctor? Doctor Chakwas? I think he's waking up." It was Ashley.

Booker noticed his armor was gone and he was wearing his working blue uniform. Despite that he was all too familiar to waking up in strange places in New York after a night of hitting the bottle of cheap whiskey; he tried not to panic as he attempted to make out where he was. He knew he was in a hospital or some medical wing, but where? Still on Eden Prime?

After siting up on the side of the bed, Booker was approached by an elderly woman with short grey hair. She looked at him and said. "You had us worried there, Chief DeWitt. I'm Dr. Chakwas, by the way. How are you feeling?"

Booker answered honestly. "My head feels like a day after the races, after my horse didn't come in. How long was I out?"

"About fifteen hours." Chakwas said. "Something happened down there with the beacon, I think."

Ashley arms were crossed and she bowed her head in shame. "Booker. It's my fault. I must have triggered some kind of security field when I approached it. You had to push me out of the way. Then I thought I lost you like we lost…"

"Ash." Booker stopped her at mid-sentence. "You had no idea what was going to happen. Hell, it could've happened to anyone. So do me a favor and don't beat yourself for this."

"Actually, we don't even know if that's what set it off." Chakwas said. "Unfortunately, we'll never get the chance to find out."

"The beacon exploded." Ashley said. "A system overload, maybe. The blast knocked you cold. The Commander, the Lieutenant, and I carried you back here to the ship."

"The ship?" Booker looked at Ashley. "What ship?"

"We're on the ship Shepard came on." Ashley said. "It's called the Normandy."

A moment of silence followed, but he told Ashley. "Thanks Ash. Thanks for saving my ass back there."

"Physically, you're fine." Chakwas said. "But I detected some unusual brain activity, abnormal beta waves. I also noticed an increase in your rapid eye movement, signs typically associated with intense dreaming."

"You got that right, doc." Booker said as he got off his bed and leaned against the foot of the bed. "I just had one of the most intensely lifelike dreams I've had in a long time."

"What was it about?" Ashley asked while standing behind him and placing her hand on his right shoulder.

"It was a warning." Booker confessed. "I was told about the future, by people I knew from before coming to Eden Prime. It felt so real, yet… I don't know?"

Chakwas crossed her arms and gave what he said some thought. "Hmm, I better add this to my report. It may… oh, Captain Anderson. Commander Shepard."

They didn't hear the two officers walk in the med bay. Ashley quickly took her hand off Booker and both Chiefs stood upright.

"How are you Chief DeWitt?" Anderson said as Booker made a weak nod. "I want to welcome you and Chief Williams aboard the Normandy."

Booker stood in front of this man who called himself Captain Anderson. He was the first to say. "Thank you, sir. But you don't mind telling me what's going on here? Why am I on your ship and why was my discharge to be put on hold?"

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions, Chief." Shepard said. "Just as much as we have a few questions to ask you."

* * *

Back on Eden Prime, Corporal Bates trekked through the muddy swamps as he was trying to get away from the danger of the geth. He had been running non-stop for what must have been half-a-day. He should have felt incredibly guilty for leaving the battle and leaving his friends behind to die. However, the adrenaline that triggered his instinct to survive was running on overtime. Bates was trying to get back to his base and hopefully find someone who hasn't been killed.

While he was circling a hiker's path around a hill, he noticed someone standing in front of his trail. At first he thought it was one of the geth, but to his relief he noticed the silhouette was that of a human.

The human was wearing dark armor, had long black hair, and he kept his head bowed down. He was holding what looked like a staff in his right hand.

"Oh my God." Bates was incredibly relieved. "A human. You don't know how glad I am to see you. I've been on the run for my life."

The man raised his head to reveal his custom made eye coverings. Then he slowly approached Bates. "You know what the penalty is for desertion, Corporal Bates?"

"Who are you?" Bates nervously asked. "How'd you know my name?"

"I had you pegged the minute you left the battlefield." The man said as he raised his staff and jammed it in Bates' chest.

Bates tried to grab his rifle, but it was too late. The tip of the staff was electrified and Bates felt a massive jolt of electricity surging into his body and fell to the ground. He was convulsing from the shock, but remained conscious enough for the strange man to finish what he had to say.

"Corporal Bates, I'm Kai Leng." The man said. "I represent a classified organization and I am interested in knowing what has happened near the Prothean dig site." Then Leng knocked Bates out with one strong blow using his staff. Leng then pulls out a pair of arm & a pair of leg restraints then places them on Bates' unconscious body. Then Leng slings his body over his shoulder and walks towards a skycar parked close by. He places the limp body inside the trunk of the car and said as he is about to drive off. "When I bring you back to the safe house and question you, that's when the fun begins."


End file.
